1 - American Memory

matter of urgent importance to the people of my State as indicated
by our presence here today as a Hawaii delegation.
I know Senator Inouye would be here also, except for his partici-
Eation in tlie Watergate hearings, of which as you know he is a mem-
er of that special committee.
We would not be making this legislative effort were it not for the
fact that shipping is a matter of utmost importance to Hawaii. Over-
seas cargo received in the State in 1970 amounted to 27,000 tons by air
and 7.5 million tons by ship. Thus, only an infinitesimal fraction of
our commerce is transported by means other than ship. To cut off
our shipping means essentially to cut off all our transportation. Only a
few emergency or perishable supplies can be transported to Hawaii
by air. The great cost of air transportation is readily seen in the fact
that it is more than 2,000 miles from Hawaii to the closest mainland,
U.S. point.
When one recognizes that Hawaii has no internal source of min-
erals, or most other raw materials, it can be seen that shipping is lit-
erally our lifeblood. As an example, all our fuel and other energy
sources must be imported across the ocean. An interruption of Ha-
waii shipping has been likened to building a wall around any other
State to completely seal off any travel across the borders, into or
out of the State, by car, rail, truck, boat, pipeline, or any other form
of surface transportation.
When there is a shipping interruption to Hawaii, commerce dries
up. Businesses cannot get materials to build or sell. Shortages begin
to apjjear. Employees are laid off. An economic paralysis sets in that
takes many months to recover from whenever shipping is resumed.
The purpose of the bill is to prevent such an economic disaster. It
is important for the subcommittee to note that the bill does not affect
an}' shipping interruption caused by action of the people of Hawaii
themselves. If workers in Hawaii chose to go on strike, or Hawaii
employers stage a lockout, there is no protection in this legislation.
The only protection we seek is from becoming involved as the in-
nocent tnird-party victims of somebody else's shipping dispute.
Because of its geographic location, Hawaii is served primarily
by shipping from the west coast. Whenever a labor-management dis-
pute occurs in the west coast maritime or longshore industries, the
parties directly involved are west coast workers and shipping com-
panies. Studies indicate that less than .S percent of the labor in west
coast shipping involved goods being sent to Hawaii. The primary, al-
most exclusive, principals are parties on the west coast.
It is our contention that Hawaii should not be held hostage because
of its slight involvement. "^Vhile the 3 percent is of no consequence in
.settling the issues of this dispute, it is of tremendous importance to
Hawaii. Thus, Hawaii is made to suffer to an extent completely out
of proportion to its almost nonexistent role in the disputes Hawaii
is made to endure an economic disaster while the other States pri-
marily involved can enjoy the continued benefits of highway trans-
portation, railroad transportation, and everj' other form of normal
commerce.
It is grossly unf.iir to permit tlie continuation of policies which re-
sult in this discrimination against one of our States. As our solution.