747FC

Keeping Hawai’i land in large-scale agriculture was doomed due to lower production costs in foreign lands. Union wage ag jobs in Hawai’i doomed the pineapple and sugar industries, just like the higher minimum wage scale is wreaking havoc for today’s restauranteurs and their employees. Government allows the sale of ag lands for commercial and residentiala development , allowing a much higher ROI than trying to compete with foreign ag.

josephstern

Anyone know what the story is with all of the citrus on Maui on the way up to Pukalani?

There are hundreds of acres that have been planted in the last few years there - far more than the island could possibly use, no? Maybe Oahu can use it all?

HaleiwaFlyer

Mahi Pono?

Most likely this California-Canadian based company.

josephstern

Good read. Seems like a start. But only 300 jobs. But they are largely non-tourism related.

Mary2e

I moved to Oahu last August. Every word was true. I'm doing a small remodel/refresh of the house we bought and the labor prices are outrageous. Everyone who comes here says they make a good living but it's still tough. The home & houseless problem is very big. There are those with jobs sleeping on the streets. People are renting out their spare rooms for over $1000 a month, and many are around $1200. Homes in very bad condition are going for over $1.5 million in a decent neighborhood. The flippers are buying them up, remodeling as cheaply as they possibly can, often to the detriment of the actual infrastructure, and are making a fortune.

But the tourists still keep coming. They are spending less and getting food items from Walmart & Target and eating in their rooms. Some are targeting hotels that offer breakfast or lounge access. Parking in Waikiki is over $50 a night.

Something has got to give.

LIH Prem

Maui never dropped pineapple production. Not sure what you meant there. Maui Land & Pineapple Company is still around and so is the Maui Gold brand of pineapples. They are even sold at your favorite warehouse store. IMO, they are usually better than the Dole pineapples they fly in from Oahu, though recently the Dole ones we bought when they were out of the Maui Gold ones have improved.

Sugar was a money losing proposition even with the government subsidies. Not to mention the problems caused by the burns. Yes, they lost some union jobs when they exited the sugar cane business. Sugar cane was a part of the islands history, but it wasn't sustainable, so with a little prodding, A&B decided to end that chapter of Maui plantation history. They sold a lot of that land to Mahi Pono.

-David

ExplorerWannabe

If I recall correctly, Dole's Wahiawa fields always tested as the lowest acid and highest sugar content. Unfortunately, Dole decided to sell those fields to housing developers a couple of decades ago. I know Dole used to do the fruit quality testing for Del Monte but I don't recall if they ever did it for Maui Land & Pineapple. I remember my boss looking at a Del Monte test report once saying, "I wouldn't even use this for juice."

YVR Cockroach

I'd like to see a study of how much the labour component is due to union wages in Hawaii, vs. lack of abundant migrant labour that certain of the continental states enjoy.

747FC

Are migrant workers on the Mainland paid union scale and get the suite of benefits mandated in Hawaii for full-time workers? I kind of doubt it.

YVR Cockroach

More availability which may drive down wages. Labour situation/cost in Hawaii is akin to the situation in Canada where there's no migrant worker availability as in the continental U.S. Workers are usually "guest" workers and wage rates are just about as high as Hawaii (which is reportedly USD 14/hr this year), and does not include mandated transportation (to/from Canada, and to/from work site), + housing (albeit the employer can deduct C$30/wk for this), and health and workplace/occupation insurance.

iahphx

I think the somewhat unique problem in Hawaii is that there is literally no place for migrant workers to live. Heck, the locals have no place to live. We are seeing this now in Hawaii with the people displaced by the Lahaina fire are losing their free accommodations in the hotels. Not sure how that will all play out. Some locals are chanting "No Housing No Peace."
https://mauinow.com/2024/03/30/lahai...ing-inventory/

YVR Cockroach

Yeah, I see somewhere that even if the agcos wanted to pay the legislated wages, they still won't be able to find enough workers. Unaffordable housing and less-than-desirable working conditions have rendered a lot of business sectors (including hospitaility) in a hole as far as finding sufficient labour goes.

747FC

Not wanting to turn Omni here, but Hawaii’s labor market changed for the worse during Covid when lots of free money was distributed.

YVR Cockroach

Everyone stayed home, or got the funds/means to go somewhere else for better wages and/or lower cost of living? Someone upthread mentioned lots of family have gone to the continent.

Welltended3

The idea/bucket list dream of Hawaii as an accessible paradise with sun, fragrant breezes, the scent of flowers, friendly and very attractive Hawaiian hospitality workers, and finally a bit of well deserved luxury...a bit tarnished by walking through hordes of middle class families gnawing takeout on the beach or worse yet, YOU gnawing takeout on your lanai drinking canned cocktails from ABC while other younger and richer tourists sit drinking Pina Coladas and feeding their 2 kids chicken fingers at House Without A Key or the Moana courtyard.