1979 Hawaii National Guard Supports Statewide Public Employee Strike

Over 500 members of the Hawaii Army National Guard were ordered to duty during the strike by blue-collar public employees in October 1979. Guard members provided back-up security at the state corrections institutions and the Hawaii State Hospital and prepared meals where cooks were in short supply.

– 1980 Annual Report pp. 14

State calls up guard during strike

On the evening of Oct. 21, telephone calls from the Hawaii Army and Air National Guard went out to mobilize more than 400 Guard members state-wide.

A total of 426 Army Guardsmen and eight Air Guard medics reported to their respective unit armories for duty.

In the case of one Army Guard unit, the espirit de corps was so high that soldiers who were not home when the calls went out, reported in for duty when told by a neighboring guardsman about the call up.

Once assembled in their armories, the Guard members were briefed on a special law enforcement duty and assigned to correctional institutions and hospitals.

The strike would have far greater impact on the state than the public initially realized. If UPW unit I workers walked off their jobs at various correctional, rehabilitation and medical institutions administered by the Department of Social Services and Housing (DSSH) and the Department of Health, inmates and patients would go unfed. The
greatest fear of DSSH officials was the possibility of Unit IO security personnel not showing up for work in support of the strike.

National Guard members were to provide security, food service and medical assistance to the following facilities:

• Hawaii State Prison, Annex and Community Release Board
• Halawa / Halfway House Complex
• Youth / Maluhia Complex
• Hilo Prison
• Kulani Prison
• Maui Prison
• Kauai Prison
• Kaneohe State Hospital

As anticipated, contract agreements were not met by the midnight deadline and approximately 8,000 blue-collar workers went on strike.

Guardsmen, trucked out to the different facilities, took up positions on a stand-by status at each facility. Organized into three, eight-hour shifts, the Army Guard soldiers and Air Guard medics began their watch.

The first few days were tense. At various correctional facilities, like Hawaii State Prison on Oahu, the possibility of a volatile situation sent one’s imagination spinning.

Referred to as OP (Oahu Prison) by many guardsmen, Hawaii State Prison is no stranger to the National Guard. The Hawaii National Guard has served as the state’s stabilizing force in three separate occasions which took place in 1973 and 1975.

This recent law enforcement duty was different. It was different in that the guardsmen were placed on state active duty, but were held in a stand-by status. For many guardsmen, it was a report in and wait type of situation.

On several occasions, inmates at OP voiced their dissatisfaction over prison conditions. Fortunately, prison guards and officials were able to settle the differences without the use of the guardsmen.

Throughout the strike, numerous mention was made of the use of the National Guard to collect the growing amounts of trash.

Standing firm, state and National Guard officials dismissed the idea of having National Guard members collect trash,

Then on Nov. 7, Gov. George R. Ariyoshi, making a televised appeal for parents and other volunteers to clean and help reopen public schools, stated -that he would call out the National Guard “if it becomes necessary to maintain order.” But at it turned out, the call up did not materialize.

As the strike continued. the number of Guard members on state active duty steadily declined as the threat of a walkout by Unit 10 security personnel diminished. Then on Nov. 16, the last Army Guard soldier was taken off state active duty.

– 1979 December Pūpūkahi pp. 5