SSCR2183

STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2183

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: GOV. MSG. NO. 537

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Labor, to which was referred Governor's Message No. 537, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of:

Director of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations

G.M. No. 537

LEONARD HOSHIJO,

for a term to expire at noon on 12-03-2018,

begs leave to report as follows:

Your Committee has reviewed the personal history and resume submitted by the nominee and finds Leonard Hoshijo to possess the requisite qualifications to be nominated as the Director of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

Your Committee received testimony in support of the nomination of Mr. Hoshijo from the Governor; Department of Land and Natural Resources; Department of Public Safety; Department of Transportation; Department of Accounting and General Services; Department of Budget and Finance; Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism; Department of Health; Department of Human Resources Development; Department of Agriculture; Hawaii Occupational Safety and Health Division, Department of Labor and Industrial Relations; Workforce Development Division, Department of Labor and Industrial Relations; Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, Department of Defense; Office of Enterprise Technology Services; Hawaii Labor Relations Board; Pacific Resource Partnership; Hawai‘i Construction Alliance; Hawaii Government Employees Association, AFSCME Local 152, AFL-CIO; SanHi Government Strategies LLP, A Limited Liability Law Partnership; Hawaii Laborers-Employers Cooperation and Education Trust; International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 142; United Public Workers, AFSCME, Local 646, AFL-CIO; General Contractors Association of Hawaii; Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters; and nine individuals.

Mr. Hoshijo obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from Antioch College and a P.Ed. degree from the University of Hawaii. After college, he worked for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), Local 142, for twenty-six years. At the ILWU, he served in various positions, including as a Housing Representative, Organizer, International Representative, and International Vice President. He carried out an assortment of responsibilities, such as assisting working families and retirees with achieving affordable homeownership and developing rental housing for individuals who were unable to purchase a home; organizing workers for collective bargaining and engaging in reaching collective bargaining agreements; supporting state assistance for agricultural and tourism employers; taking part in educational programs for member volunteers; conducting contract negotiations; conducting internal democracy processes; and administering joint ILWU Local 142 and International union programs.

Mr. Hoshijo then served as the Education and Political Director for the Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters from 2001 until 2015. As part of the central staff, his teamwork accomplishments include conducting member education programs on origins and services of the union and the importance of government in their livelihood and conducting research, internal governance and operational procedures, and contract administration. He also participated in the successful contract negotiation for project labor agreements with military housing developers that privatized military housing to ensure that homes for Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force families would be built efficiently for fifty years at area standard wages for construction workers.

Mr. Hoshijo began serving as Deputy Director of Labor and Industrial Relations in 2015. As Deputy Director, he assisted the Director in managing the Department. He oversaw the Workforce Development Council and the Unemployment Insurance, Workers' Compensation, and Occupational Safety and Health Divisions. Mr. Hoshijo has been serving as Acting Director of Labor and Industrial Relations since December 2017.

Mr. Hoshijo also serves as a director or officer for various low income rental housing nonprofit corporations, including the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation, Jack Hall Kona Memorial Housing Corporation, Waipahu Jack Hall Memorial Housing Corporation, Ewa Housing Foundation, Kohala Union Housing Corporation, Ka‘u Housing Corporation, and Jack Hall Hawaii Housing Corporation. He additionally serves as a member of the Labor Education Advisory Board of the University of Hawaii Center for Labor Education and Research, as well as a director and officer for the Hawaii Labor Heritage Council.

Testifiers in support of the nominee indicate that Mr. Hoshijo has worked collaboratively with employers, government officials, and community organizations. He analytically addresses issues by considering all points of view to find a common ground and acting accordingly. He has a firm working knowledge of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Your Committee finds that he has the skills, knowledge, temperament, and experience to lead a department as large and as complex as the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

Your Committee finds that Mr. Hoshijo is qualified to serve as the Director of Labor and Industrial Relations. He possesses the intelligence, knowledge, experience, and demeanor to be an effective Director.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor that is attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the nominee, has found the nominee to be qualified for the position to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nomination.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Labor,

____________________________

JILL N. TOKUDA, Chair