Hawaii’s labor unions can no longer rely on word-of-mouth to get information to thousands of members. Today, in order to stay relevant with younger members, unions need to tweet, text and post on Facebook, among other modes of communication.

“The unions have to make sure that they are able to communicate effectively with a younger workforce,” said Randy Perreira, executive director of the 42,300-member Hawaii Government Employees Association (HGEA). Younger generations often have a “different work ethic and in some cases, a different value set.”

Perreira said that with younger workers, there’s a “need for instantaneous and quick communication” in today’s digital world — and unions need to deliver.

Damien Kim, business manager and financial secretary of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local Union 1186, agrees that it’s critical to reach out to younger workers.

“Facebook, Instagram, tweets, commercials, media, radio spots” are used to communicate the message of IBEW 1186, Kim said. “It’s way different.”

In order to grow its membership, unions must embrace change — politically, in organizing and in communicating with the younger workforces, Kim said. That was the sentiment of his Labor Day message to the local’s 4,000 members.

“Insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting a different result,” said Kim, who added that if unions don’t change their ways, their numbers will decrease. “For us, it’s change in organizing.”

Kim said that members could make a difference by simply changing the way they treat non-union workers. Back in the day, non-union workers were frowned upon and ignored at job sites, he said. Now the message is to engage those workers so that they might think, “This might not be a bad organization to be with,” Kim said.

— Shannon Tangonan,

Honolulu Star-Advertiser