Currently, graduate student students at the university are the only state workers that are not permitted to unionize or collectively bargain with their employer. House Bill 1277 and Senate Bill 406 would change that and give these hard-working student employees the same fundamental workers rights that the rest of Hawaiʻi’s government employees depend on.

“This is about more than just wages and benefits,” said Benton Park Rodden at an economic justice rally held on Sunday, Feb. 12. “We’re not exactly making widgets over at the university. We’re engaged in the production of new knowledge, and when you limit the production of knowledge to those who are wealthy and well-connected, you limit what we are capable of doing as a society, and the kinds of information we operate on.”

Rodden is a graduate student at the Hawaiʻi Research Center for Futures Studies. He did his undergrad in Political Science at DePaul University and he currently serves as the Advocacy Chair of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Graduate Student Organization, where he campaigns for legislative action, community activism and change that will benefit students and, therefore, the university.

“What we’re fighting for is the opportunity to change the conditions of possibility so that we can advocate for the world we wish to create,” said Rodden. “I know that when we succeed in uniting academic labor, our alu will become an unstoppable force for change, both here and nationally.

“We’re getting hit from all sides right now,” he continued. “The current White House and Congress has gone ahead and politicized the grant process. They’re attacking researchers when they don’t like the results. They’re attacking our international students, preventing them from being able to do work. We can’t fight every struggle we have on our hands right now; we can’t be fighting both the lawmakers in D.C. and the lawmakers in Honolulu: we need support from our local legislators. We need your support.

“If you care about the facts, than you need to understand that facts aren’t free. Somebody has to work to put the facts together. Somebody has to do the research to make it happen. If you want a public science that works for the public good, than you need to support it. This is a fight that started a long time ago—in the 1970s—when students first started agitating at the university for collective bargaining rights. It’s a fight that we plan to finish,” Rodden concluded.

The House bill is scheduled to be heard by the House labor committee (its second committee hearing) on Tuesday, Feb. 14 at 10 a.m. in conference room 309. The senate bill has yet to be scheduled for a hearing by the senate labor committee.

Chair Machado succeeds At-Large Trustee Leinaʻala Ahu Isa, Ph.D., who was installed as acting chair during a special board meeting on February 2. Trustee Machado, who was first elected to the OHA Board in 1996, previously served as OHA chair from December 2010 through November 2014.

“I am grateful that my fellow trustees have given me a second chance to lead them,” Chair Machado said. “My goal is bring stability to the agency and rebuild our hale. We need to work together at the board level and with staff—embrace one and another with aloha so we can move forward for our Lāhui.”

Trustees also filled the remaining board leadership positions during today’s re-organization meeting. Kauaʻi and Niʻihau Trustee Dan Ahuna was named board vice chair.

Maui Trustee Carmen “Hulu” Lindsey will remain chair of the board’s Committee on Resource Management, and At-Large Trustee John D. Waiheʻe IV will serve as the committee’s vice chair.

Hawaiʻi Island Trustee Robert K. Lindsey Jr. was selected to chair the board’s Committee on Beneficiary Advocacy and Empowerment, and Trustee Ahuna was elected as the committee’s vice chair.

Gov. David Ige today announced three appointments to the First Circuit Court (Oʻahu) as follows:

Keith K. Hiraoka, 58, attorney at Roeca Luria Hiraoka LLP, is appointed to the First Circuit Court to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of former Circuit Judge Karen S. S. Ahn. Ahn retired in June, 2016.

Hiraoka has practiced law since 1983. In recent years, his primary areas of practice have been insurance coverage and representing attorneys, accountants, realtors and other professionals who have been sued. He has tried cases before juries, judges and arbitrators, participated in many mediations and briefed and argued appeals before the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court, the Intermediate Court of Appeals and the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Hiraoka graduated from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa in 1980 and earned his juris doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law in 1983.

“I was honored to have been one of those selected by the Judicial Selection Commission, and I am humbled that Governor Ige appointed me to the First Circuit Court,” said Hiraoka. I will provide as much information as possible to, and spend as much time as is necessary with the Senate and the Hawai‘i State Bar Association during the confirmation process in the hope that the public will have confidence in the process and in the integrity of the Judiciary.”

Family Court Judge Catherine H. Remigio, 51, is appointed to the First Circuit Court to fill the vacancy created by the Aug. 2016 retirement of former Circuit Judge Steven S. Alm.

Remigio was appointed to Family Court in 2011. Prior to that, she served in the Judiciary as a Per Diem District Court Judge and Circuit Court Grand Jury Counsel.  Remigio has also practiced law in several private firms, including as a partner at Bryant & Remigio, LLC. She served as a deputy public defender for the State of Hawaiʻi and as law clerk to Judges Thomas K. Kaulukukui, Jr. and Eden Elizabeth Hifo in the First Circuit Court. Remigio graduated from Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service in 1987 and earned her juris doctorate at the William S. Richardson School of Law in 1992.

“I am deeply honored and grateful that Governor Ige has nominated me to serve on the First Circuit Court bench. I hope to continue working for the betterment of our people and communities and to serve with distinction,” said Remigio.

Attorney Todd W. Eddins, 52, is appointed to the First Circuit Court to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of former Circuit Judge Richard K. Perkins in June 2016.

Eddins graduated from the College of William & Mary and the William S. Richardson School of Law, where he was executive editor of the University of Hawai`i Law Review. He served as a law clerk to Justice Yoshimi Hayashi of the Hawai`i Supreme Court. Eddins worked as a trial lawyer at the Office of the Public Defender for more than ten years. In private practice he has concentrated on complex civil, criminal, and appellate litigation.

“It is an extraordinary honor to receive Governor Ige’s nomination to fill the seat of such an eminent jurist as Judge Richard Perkins. I am heartened by the opportunity to contribute to our one of a kind community through judicial service.  I look forward to the upcoming confirmation process,” said Eddins.

“These individuals know the law, understand complex civil and criminal issues, and possess the demeanor needed to facilitate their resolution. They also have the expertise to manage a jury trial in a fair and impartial manner. They will serve the people of Hawaiʻi with distinction,” said Gov. Ige.

“The Judiciary must accurately reflect our community, and I want to encourage more women to apply for these positions. More will be open shortly,” said Ige. “I am seeking the help of several professional women’s organizations to recruit talented women to the bench. Ultimately, the judicial branch will better serve the people of this state when it truly mirrors our diversity,” Gov. Ige continued.

The process used to select these appointees is the same process used in prior selections and will be used whenever Gov. Ige makes judicial appointments. Gov. Ige personally interviewed each candidate, received input from retired Hawai‘i State Supreme Court Associate Justice James Duffy, who reviewed the qualifications of the nominees and solicited feedback on each from the law community, and reviewed testimony submitted by the public. The Senate confirmation also allows opportunities for the general public to weigh in.

Jury trials are held in the Circuit Courts, which have general jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases. They also have exclusive jurisdiction in probate, guardianship and criminal felony cases, as well as civil cases where the contested amount exceeds $40,000. Circuit Courts share concurrent jurisdiction with District Courts in civil non-jury cases in which the amounts in controversy are between $10,000 and $40,000. Other cases heard by the Circuit Courts include mechanics’ liens and misdemeanor violations transferred from the District Courts for jury trials.

All three appointments are subject to Senate confirmation.

Listen to the oral arguments

Details:

No. SCAP-15-0000440, Thursday, February 2, 2017, 9:45 a.m.

STATE OF HAWAIʻI, Respondent/Plaintiff-Appellee, vs. CHRISTOPHER DEEDY, Petitioner/Defendant-Appellant.

The above-captioned case was set for argument on the merits at:

Supreme Court Courtroom
Aliʻiolani Hale, 2nd Floor
417 South King Street
Honolulu, HI 96813

Attorney for Petitioner:

Thomas M. Otake

Attorney for Respondent:

Donn Fudo, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney

NOTE: Order granting Application for Transfer, filed 05/13/16.

COURT: MER, CJ; PAN, SSM, RWP, and MDW, JJ.