1 - American Memory

17S
analysis would Indicate that visitor spending supports, directly and indirectly,
close to 20 percent of Hawaii's total economy. The visitor industry in Hawaii is of
course completely dependent upon the maintenance of uninterrupted service by
the eight U.S. trunk air carriers that serve Hawaii.
In summary, Hawaii is completely dependent for her economic life on the
movement of commodities to and from the Mainland U.S., mostly by ship but
partly by air, and on the movement of people to and from the Mainland U.S., now
entirely by air.
It is estimated that in 1973 commodities moving to Hawaii from the Mainland
U.S. by ship will amount to 5 million tons and by air to 50,000 tons. Commodity
movement from Hawaii to the Mainland U.S. will be 2 million tons by ship and
2.'>,000 tons by air. With a 1973 population of 823,000, this will mean 8.6 tons per
person per year. This amounts to nearly 35 tons for a family of four.
As far as people are concerned (visitors plus local residents), it is estimated
that in 1973 westbound carriers to Hawaii, most of which are domestic trunk
carriers, will fly 2.3 million people to Hawaii.
It is obvious that without full, uninterrupted service between the Mainland
U.S. and Hawaii, the Hawaiian economy suffers badly, and if the interruption is
long and severe, we suffer drastically. This is documented in the following
chapter.
CHAPTER II—TRANSPOETATION STRIKES AND THEIR IMPACT ON HAWAII
Over the past several decades, there have been hundreds of interruptions of
shipping and air transportation between Hawaii and the Mainland U.S. Not
merely a severe inconvenience and strain for Hawaii's consumers and business-
men, these interruptions have caused untold economic los-ses throughout the
State.
Since World War II, more than four years' time has been lost through trans-
portation strikes affecting Hawaii. Eight major strikes, only one centered In
Hawaii, accounted for 637 of the lost days. They were:
1. The 53-day West Coast shipboard union strike In 1946.
2. The 96-day West Coast shipboard union strike in 1948.
3. The 177-day Hawaii longshoremen's strike in 1949.
4. The 66-day West Coast sailors' strike in 1952.
5. The 27-day West Coast shipboard union strike In 1962.
6. The 43-day machinists' strike of five trunk air carriers in 1966.
7. The 134-day West Coa.st longshoremen's strike In 1971-72.
8. The 41-day West Coast ship officers' strike In 1972.
Some of the scores of shorter or less damaging strikes which cost over a thou-
sand more lost days are listed In the Appendix.
In addition to this cumulative total of over four years of Interrupted trans-
portation to and from Hawaii, there Is the prestrike period of frantic stock-
piling and the poststrike period of getting bu.slness back to normal. The cumula-
tive total time of disruption due to transportation disputes may therefore well
be in the range of six years since World War II—or nearly one-fourth of the
time.
The 1W9 strike of Hawaii's dockworkers was not only the longest, but the
most severe. Because local docks were closed to all but military ships, virtually
all of our oceanbojne conunerce was completely cut off.
But no one can say that a strike centered on the Mainland has much lees of
an Impact on Hawaii. The great bulk of our commerce is with the Mainland
states, primarily through West Coast ports. Although this two-way trade tra-
verses thousands of miles of international waters, it is still considered domestic
commerce and the law requires that It be carried on U.S. flag vessels. (The same
type of regulation applies to air as well as ocean transportation. Passengers,
for example, may not fly from any Mainland U.S. city to Hawaii on a foreign
airline unless their destination Is a foreign city beyond Hawaii.) Except In the
event of a strike involving Hawaii's ports, foreign vessels can keep our com-
merce open with foreign countries. But our foreign commerce Is nothing com-
pared to our dependence on trade with the Mainland, and foreign vessels can
do nothing to restore that.
Let's take a look at some of the most devastating transportation interruptions
that have hit Hawaii in the past 24 years.
97-548 O - 74 - la