STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1729

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                   

 

RE:     GOV. MSG. NO. 607

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Labor, Culture and the Arts, to which was referred Governor's Message No. 607, submitting for study and consideration the nomination of: 

 

Deputy Director of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations

 

G.M. No. 607

LEONARD HOSHIJO,

for a term to expire at noon on 12-05-2022,

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     Your Committee reviewed the personal history, resume, and statement submitted by Leonard Hoshijo for service as the Deputy Director of Labor and Industrial Relations.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of the nomination for the appointment of Mr. Hoshijo from the Governor; Department of Labor and Industrial Relations; Department of Accounting and General Services; Department of Human Resources Development; Department of Human Services; Department of Budget and Finance; Department of Health; Department of Transportation; Department of Agriculture; Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Department of Public Safety; Workforce Development Division of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations; Workforce Development Council; Office of Enterprise Technology Services; University of Hawai‘i West Oahu; University of Hawaii Professional Assembly; Hawaii Government Employees Association, AFSCME Local 152, AFL-CIO; Hawai‘i Construction Alliance; Pacific Resource Partnership; Hawaii Laborers-Employers Cooperation and Education Trust; ILWU Local 142; Ralph S. Inouye Co., Ltd.; LiUNA Local 368; Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters; International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, District Council 50; Nordic PCL; Democratic Party of Hawaii Labor Caucus; Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation; Alan Shintani, Inc.; and fourteen individuals.

 

     Your Committee finds that Mr. Hoshijo has dedicated his professional life in service to Hawaii's labor force.  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, where he served in various positions, including as a Housing Representative, Organizer, International Representative, and International Vice President and carried out an assortment of responsibilities.  Mr. Hoshijo then served as the Education and Political Director for the Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters from 2001 until 2015, where he accomplished numerous endeavors including 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.  Mr. Hoshijo then became the Director of Labor and Industrial Relations in 2018 and is currently the Acting Deputy Director of Labor and Industrial Relations.  Mr. Hoshijo also serves as a director or officer for various low income rental housing nonprofit corporations.  He served as a member of the Labor Education Advisory Board of the University of Hawaii Center for Labor Education and Research, and is currently a director and officer for the Hawaii Labor Heritage Council.

 

     Testifiers commented on how much of an asset Mr. Hoshijo is to the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (Department).  He has a firm working knowledge of the Department and has provided it with effective leadership in legislative, administrative, and programmatic areas.  In his own testimony, Mr. Hoshijo stated that his desire to serve is in part to bring a perspective built in the course of direct, individual "grass roots" engagement with tens of thousands of Hawaii's workers and their families over the years, as well as to bring his unique perspective related to working with Hawaii's industries and government bodies.  Mr. Hoshijo expressed that he is prepared to provide a continuity of approach to the Department, and looks forward to doing so.

 

     Your Committee finds that Mr. Hoshijo's vast experience, intelligence, knowledge, skills, and commitment will continue to serve him well as the Deputy Director of Labor and Industrial Relations.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Labor, Culture and the Arts 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, Culture and the Arts,

 

 

 

____________________________

BRIAN T. TANIGUCHI, Chair