Walter Kupau

From dKosopedia

Categories: Hawaii stub | Unions in Hawaii

Walter Kupau (b. April 1, 1936 - August 11, 1999)

"Kupau, a native Hawaiian, born in the poor and tough neighborhood of Kalihi on O'ahu became the financial secretary, business representative and chief negotiator for the 7,000-member Hawaii Carpenters Union Local 745 and was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the union from 1978 to 1999. Under his guidance Local 745 became the largest local in the Carpenters Union and the fifth-largest union in Hawai'i. He was elected the third president of the Hawaii State AFL-CIO, and served from 1969 to 1984,during which time he doubled that organization's membership, and lobbied hard and successfully to defeat efforts to enact a union-busting "Right-to-Work" law. Arrested and imprisoned by the federal government on a perjury charge after a highly publicized trial for swearing under oath that his union's Area Standards picketing of a Maui contractor was constitutionally protected informational picketing. A tireless union organizer, he was often at odds with less aggressive unions and rarely hesitated to provoke his own arrest on a picket line when he wanted to draw more public attention to the dispute." [1]

External Links

• Kupau, ‘giant in labor movement,’ laid to rest By Susan Kreifels (Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 8-19-05)
• Walter Kupau was tough but dedicated (Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 8-19-99)