Hawaii business leaders speak out for civil unions bill

WASHINGTON—Some of Hawaii’s largest businesses today spoke out in favor of the pending civil unions bill with the message that fairness is good for the economy and good for the community. The business push comes after the Hawaii Business Roundtable (HBR) sent a letter to Gov. Linda Lingle late last week urging a veto of the bill. HBR members made clear today that the organization was not speaking for its membership.

“America’s most successful businesses have been leaders in treating same-sex headed families with fairness and respect so it’s no surprise that they are speaking out loudly for civil unions in Hawaii,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “Governor Lingle should follow these business leaders who know that enacting civil unions will attract and retain the best workforce possible and keep Hawaii’s homegrown talent in the state.”

Time Warner Cable Inc., the second largest cable company in the country whose subsidiary Oceanic Cablevision is a member of the HBR Executive Committee, said in a statement:

“While we are active members of the Business Roundtable and believe it to be a beneficial organization for the people of Hawaii, we do not agree with every decision that the Roundtable makes. The letter to Governor Lingle urging her not to support House Bill 444 is one such instance. Time Warner Cable specifically prohibits all forms of discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender employees and offers full equal benefits to all our employees. We support the efforts in the State of Hawaii to ensure that all its citizens, some of whom are Time Warner Cable employees, are treated with equality under the law.”

Aon Corp., an insurance and management consulting company and an HBR member said in a statement:

“Aon Corporation’s position has been and continues to be that we support domestic partnerships and civil unions. We fully support the Human Rights Campaign as noted in our participation in the annual Corporate Equality Index survey and our 100 percent rating. We are in the process of contacting and issuing a letter to the Hawaii Business Roundtable requesting that our name be removed from the letter that was sent to the Governor asking for the veto of the bill.”

Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc., a global professional services firm with significant presence in Hawaii and an HBR member said in a statement:

“The letter dated June 4, 2010 from the Hawaii Business Roundtable to Gov. Linda Lingle urging her to veto House Bill 444 does not represent the views of Marsh, Inc. or its parent company MMC (Marsh & McLennan Companies). MMC specifically prohibits all forms of discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender employees. We support the efforts in the State of Hawaii to ensure that all its citizens are treated with equality under the law.”

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. one of the largest global hotel and leisure companies and an HBR member said in a statement:

“While Starwood is a member of the Hawaii Business Roundtable, we do not support this letter and were not a signatory of this letter. To clarify our position, we contacted [HBR] to let them know that Starwood does not support the Executive Committee’s proposed veto of HB 444 and that Starwood should not in any way be associated with the Executive Committee’s June 4 request of the Governor.”

Marriot International Inc. has also contacted the Hawaii Business Roundtable to disassociate itself from the letter. HBR is reportedly holding a meeting of its membership this morning, June 17, to review its position.