e-Voice of Business March 20, 2019

info@cochawaii.org | (808) 545-4300

e-Voice of Business March 20, 2019

President’s Message

Aloha Chamber members,

Yesterday, the Chamber held its Manufacturing Day at the State Capitol, in partnership withย Hawaii Technology Development Corporationย and theย Hawaii Food Manufacturers Association, to showcase our local manufacturers. Participating companiesย included some of Hawaii’s top food manufacturers, farmers and other clothing and product designers. Mahalo to legislators and legislative staff for visiting with manufacturers and learning more about the industry. The legislature has supported the Chamberโ€™sย Manufacturing in Hawaiiย initiative through the form of grant funding which has helped revitalize the industry.

Click on the photo above to watch a video recap from Manufacturing Day

I just returned from the U.S. Chamberโ€™s Board of Directors and Committee of 100 meeting. Topics of discussion were cybersecurity, trade, workforce development, infrastructure, the political landscape and artificial intelligence, as we look into the future.
ย 
On theย legislative front, the minimum wage bills are still moving. Pleaseย check out these testimonialsย covering how these bills will impact business.

Laulima & mahalo,


Sherry Menor-McNamara
President & CEO
“Laulima”
Many hands working together in collaboration and striving for a common goal.

Advocating for Business

Legislature Approaches Second Lateral Filing Deadline

As we approach tomorrowโ€™s Second Lateral Filing deadline for the legislative session, the Chamber has begun to get a better picture of which bills are continuing to move throughout the session and appear to be headed to conference.
ย 
The Business Advocacy Department continuesย to provide testimony throughout the week on a number of bills.
ย 
Proposals to increase the minimum wage continue to be among our top priorities. These bills had their initial hearings in the Senate and House Labor Committees this past week, where members of both committees had the opportunity to hear from a number of business owners about their concerns with increasing the minimum wage. Unfortunately, both committees passed the bills, which now head to the House Committee on Finance and the Senate Committee on Ways and Means.
ย 
The Chamber will continue to keep our members informed about when these hearings will take place, and we highly encourage ourย members to be sure toย sign up for our action alertsย if you donโ€™t already receive them. These next hearings will be one of the last opportunities for the public to provide testimony on these important pieces of legislation.

Supporting our Military

Army Plans Short-Term Pacific Deployments


ย 

General Robert Brown, Commander of U.S. Army Pacific, announced that thousands of soldiers will be rotated through short-term deployments across the Pacific to achieve the Army’s goals of becoming a more expeditionary force.

Click hereย to read more.

Building our Membership

Sign Up for Soft Skills Training
ย 

ย 
The Chamber, in partnership with Kapiolaniย Community College,ย presents Global Communications, a soft skills training program consisting of two courses:ย “Foundations of Communication” and “Communication and Collaborating with Others.” Participants first learn foundational communication skills and progress towards building skills to communicate effectively with various audiences and in different situations. Courses will be available in April and May – please register at links below:
ย 
Beginning April 17thย (once a week for 12 weeks,ย register byย APRIL 1ST)
Beginning May 4thย (twice a week for 6 weeks,ย register byย APRIL 23RD)
ย 
SPACE IS VERY LIMITED

This is inserted at the bottom