With the current labor unrest in mind, a documentary film about the mid-20th century labor movement and the rise of the local working class is set to debut on PBS Hawaiʻi.
This fall we have seen a lockout against nurses at the Kapiʻolani Medical Center for Women & Children, which ended after 22 days. Hotel workers walked off their jobs over Labor Day weekend, and UNITE HERE! Local 5 workers at Hilton Hawaiian Village are currently in week three of a strike.
The new film, "Ah Quon McElrath: The Struggle Never Ends!," has been years in the making. Film producer Chris Conybeare has long worked with the Center for Labor Education and Research at the University of Hawaiʻi at West Oʻahu.
The film shares the history of Hawaiʻi's working class through the eyes of a remarkable woman during a labor movement dominated by men.
"One of the reasons we did this documentary is because a lot of people don't know anymore who Ah Quon McElrath was," Conybeare said. "Ah Quon McElrath was one of the most important leaders in Hawaiʻi, a woman leader, in terms of working for strong labor unions and social justice issues."
"She started as a student as a volunteer with the ILWU, and she worked as a volunteer with them, almost like a full-time job from the late 30s until 1950-something, when she was actually hired as a social worker. She was instrumental in helping the union organize the sugar workers, and helped organize the historic 1946 sugar strike, which actually brought about the first real labor democracy in Hawaiʻi," Conybeare said. She was born in 1915.
He said he wanted to create this film about McElrath because a lot of attention is usually paid to the men in the labor movement. She didn't try to be the star, he said, so she's not as well remembered.
"The men were progressive and wanted to do the right thing, but a woman was not one of their traditional sources of leadership, so Ah Quon basically used her influence to get things done and get things done in a very good fashion and basically did it without looking for any attention to herself," Conybeare said.
Conybeare said that after McElrath died in 2008, he thought he should do something to showcase her impact on Hawaiʻi's working class.
"We really want it to be used for future generations to see what one person — the influence can be if they are resilient, if they have strength, and if they just don't give up. Ah Quon never gave up. She always came back. She always was ready to keep fighting," he said.
The film debuts on PBS Hawaiʻi Presents on Oct. 17 at 8:30 p.m. A virtual screening will also be held on Oct. 16 at noon.
This interview aired on The Conversation on Oct. 10, 2024. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
