{"id":19588,"date":"2023-09-03T06:13:55","date_gmt":"2023-09-03T16:13:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/?p=19588"},"modified":"2023-09-03T06:13:56","modified_gmt":"2023-09-03T16:13:56","slug":"salute-to-filipino-workers-on-labor-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/2023\/09\/03\/salute-to-filipino-workers-on-labor-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Salute to Filipino Workers on Labor Day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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by Raymund Llanes Liongson, PhD

<\/em>History has taught us that Filipino presence in Hawaii is rooted in labor. Filipino migration to Hawaii began in 1906 when the first 15 Filipinos were recruited to work in the sugarcane plantation fields. By the 1930s, Filipino plantation laborers began to outnumber other ethnic groups working in the fields and mills.

Fast forward to a century later and Filipinos have become the fastest-growing and largest ethnic group in Hawaii. Of the 1.46 million population of the islands, about one in four Hawaii residents (25%) have some Filipino ancestry. An estimated 79.6 percent of the Filipino population between ages 20-64 are in labor force, according to a Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism data.

Today\u2019s Filipino Workers
<\/strong>\u201cFilipino workers play an integral role to Hawaii\u2019s economy, culture, and society,\u201d says Director Jade Butay of the Hawaii State Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR). \u201cWithout Filipino workers, the hotels, restaurants, health care, construction, and other industries wouldn\u2019t be able to survive.\u201d

Atty. Sergio Alcubilla III, Executive Director of Hawaii Workers Center, agrees. \u201cWith\u00a0Filipinos comprising nearly 25% of the state’s population, it’s hard to miss a Filipino worker. From our hotel lobbies to our hospital floors, you’ll find Filipino workers everywhere with many working more than one job. In essence, our immigrant\u00a0work ethic is without question and plays a critical role in fueling Hawaii’s economy.\u201d

Filipino workers are known for their industry and commitment to their work, creating an almost stereotypical image of being hard workers. This did not escape the observant eyes of Eugene \u201cGino\u201d Soque\u00f1a, Executive Director of Hawaii Building and Construction Trades Council (HBCTC).

\u201cIn my 35 years working in the construction industry, I have witnessed firsthand how Filipino workers have excelled\u00a0in whatever construction trade you find them in — from the hard-working Laborers and Masons Union members, to the Operating Engineers and Electrical Workers Union members, many of them becoming foremen or project superintendents. Even in jobs other than the construction industry, Filipino workers are always willing to work. They hardly complain, and they always find better and easier ways to do the job,\u201d says the HBCTC Executive Director.

Bumps and Hurdles<\/strong>
These heartening impressions are not without challenges and disappointments, however.

\u201cFilipinos are underrepresented in some occupations, especially in top managerial and professional positions, and in higher education settings,\u201d Labor Director Butay notes. \u201cThe University of Hawaii\u2019s Pamantasan Council has reported that only 14% of undergraduates at UH Manoa, our flagship university, are of Filipino descent. Also, the percentage of Filipino faculty in the UH System is relatively low; the Pamantasan Council reported that only 4.2% of instructional faculty in the UH System was of Filipino ancestry in 2021.\u201d Filipinos fall behind their Japanese, White, and Chinese counterparts when it comes to education.

The hierarchy of the richest and poorest ethnic groups in Hawaii hasn\u2019t changed much, according to Jonathan Okamura, professor emeritus of Ethnic Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. That ranking puts Japanese, Chinese, and Whites at the top, with Filipino and Native Hawaii nearer the bottom. Professor Okamura uses family income, educational attainment, and occupational status to gauge a group\u2019s socio-economic status.

While a roughly quarter (25.5%) of the Filipino workforce between 16 years old and older are in management, business, science and the arts industries, the majority are into service occupations (30.5%) and sales and office employment (23.0%).

U.S. Census Data (2019) shows that Filipino and part-Filipino households have the second highest median family income, behind their Japanese and part-Japanese counterpart. That Filipinos have the largest average family size is a major factor in the high-family income ranking, explains Carlie Liddell, head statistician of the Hawaii State Data Center.

Per capita income, however, Filipinos in Hawaii fall behind the Japanese, Whites, Chinese, and the State average figures.

The apparent passivity of some Filipino workers toward unfair or oppressive work conditions alarms the HWC Executive Director.

\u201cWhether it’s our colonial history or cultural upbringing, it seems that we too easily relinquish that power to our employers, to other ethnicities, and to the powers that be. I see it when our workers are afraid to speak up against the abuses of their bosses, when qualified Filipinos are passed over promotions, and when the boards of large corporations lack any diversity reflective of the population. Yes, we are a significant portion of the population in Hawaii but we have not fully exercised our strength. When we do, like we did on the sugar and pineapple fields not that long ago, all workers are benefited,\u201d observes Alcubilla.

DLIR Director Butay sees Hawaii\u2019s high cost of living and skyrocketing housing costs as significant challenge for Filipino workers in the State, much like anyone else. This is compounded by the increasing cost of higher education, home ownership, saving for retirement, and other aspects of what used to be more easily attainable for workers.

Butay explains that \u201cFilipinos are disproportionately overrepresented in Hawai’i’s lowest paid and most vulnerable employment sectors and are among the top workers impacted by job loss\u201d due to health or economic crises.

Another major challenge is \u201cbeing torn between pursuing higher education and earning wages to support families here and in the Philippines,\u201d Butay added. \u201cThe need to prepare workers for the economy of the future is a marathon, not a sprint. It\u2019s all about long-term sacrifice instead of immediate gratification.

Both Alcubilla and Butay cite linguistic and cultural variances as common sources of discrimination against Filipino workers. \u201cAs an immigrant, I understand the barriers of culture and language that others may use to exploit us,\u201d admitted the HWC executive.

\u201cDue to poor language ability, some Filipino workers may not express themselves well during interviews and once employed, language barriers can slow their promotion and advancement,\u201d explains the Labor Director. A 2016\u00a0Hawaii State report showed that speakers of a non-English language typically earn 10% to 34% less than English-only speakers for all proficiency levels.

Disturbing circumstances include reports of opportunism against and oppression of Filipino workers \u2013 even by their own kind. Alcubilla reveals cases of \u201cFilipinos taking advantage of and exploiting other Filipinos — from wage theft to possible labor trafficking.\u201d

Promising Resolutions
<\/strong>There is a general agreement that compassion, education and training are critical in uplifting the life condition of workers.

\u201cAs a community, I know we can be better,\u201d says Allcubilla. \u201cIf we are business owners, we must pay our workers fairly. If we are supervisors, we must treat workers with the dignity and respect they deserve. And as workers, we must understand that we have a powerful voice and that we must use it to uplift each other and our community.\u201d\u00a0

\u201cEducation and training are critical components to address the challenges Filipino workers face,\u201d says Butay. A higher education opens the door to jobs in professions and opportunities for advancement to managerial and executive positions. But there are other promising routes. The majority of future jobs may not require a college degree.

Since coming on board as the DLIR Director, Butay says he had been signing a lot of apprenticeship certificates for electricians, carpenters, plumbers, ironworkers, HVAC technicians, and other nontraditional apprenticeship in health care, hospitality, and agriculture. \u201cFrom my vantage point, these are good outcomes and a win\/win \u2013 both for the workers and our community. We continue to\u00a0strengthen and expand the program to build a pipeline to good, quality jobs, support underserved communities, and advance racial and gender equity.\u201d

\u201cAt the Hawaii Workers Center, our mission is to help organize workers from marginalized communities so they are empowered to exercise their right to organize for their own social, economic, and political\u00a0well-being,\u201d explains Alcubilla. HWC trainings\u00a0impress on workers\u2019 rights and the articulation of the workers\u2019 \u201ccollective voices to enable them to stand up to the money interests of big business.\u201d The Center supports the work of\u00a0labor unions such as UNITE HERE Local 5 and ILWU and work to \u201chold government leaders accountable when it comes to being on the side of the working-class community to ensure workers are protected through our policies and laws.\u201d

Labor Day Observance<\/strong>
The first Labor Day holiday in the U.S. was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City when 10,000 workers took unpaid time off to march from City Hall to Union Square, holding the first Labor Day parade in U.S. history.

By 1894, 23 more states had adopted the holiday, and on June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed a law making the first Monday in September of each year a national holiday. Since then, Labor Day became an annual celebration of the social and economic achievements of American workers.

Five years earlier in 1889, however, May 1 was designated May Day (or International Labour Day), a day in support of workers, by an international federation of socialist groups and trade unions in commemoration of the Haymarket Riot, a violent confrontation that took place on May 4, 1886, in Chicago. The incident sprang from a labor strike demanding for an 8-hour workday.

As the socialist trade unions and workers were already marking May 1 as Labor Day, President Cleveland was uncomfortable with choosing the month of the Haymarket Riot as Labor Day so he chose the alternative day in September.

Except for the United States, Canada, Autralia, Japan, and New Zealand, over 60 other countries observe International Labor Day on May 1.

\u201cLabor Day belongs to every man and woman who contributes to improve our lives, the economy and made this country what it is,\u201d says Butay.

\u201cHigher wages, holidays, vacation, medical coverage, retirement, overtime, sick leave, 8-hour work days, safe working conditions, etc. are all possible today because of the labor movement and those from organized labor,\u201d concluded Soque\u00f1a.

Countless workers who fought for these rights and entitlements were Filipino. So, to all of you, Filipino workers, we thankfully salute you.

RAYMUND LLANES LIONGSON, PHD<\/strong> is a retired professor from the Arts and Humanites at the University of Hawaii-Leeward CC. He is current member of the Board of Directors of the Filipino Community Center and the State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. He served as a member of the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, President of the University of the Philippines Alumni Association, and Master of Hawaiian Lodge-Free and Accepted Masons, among many other community involvements.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Raymund Llanes Liongson, PhD History has taught us that Filipino presence in Hawaii 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