Yoshito Takamine
| Yoshito Takamine | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Hawaii House of Representatives from the 1st District | |
|
In office 1959–1984 |
|
| Preceded by | ? |
| Succeeded by | Dwight Takamine |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
June 24, 1924 Hakalau, Territory of Hawaii |
| Died | October 27, 2015 (aged 91) Honokaa, Hawaii |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Kimiko Takamine |
| Residence | Honokaa, Hawaii |
| Profession | Labor leader Politician |
Yoshito Takamine (June 24, 1924 – October 27, 2015) was an American politician and labor leader in Hawaii. Takamine, who was first elected to the Hawaii House of Representatives in 1958, when the state was still the Territory of Hawaii, served in the state House of Representatives for 12 consecutive terms until his retirement in 1984. Takamine, the longtime chairman of the House Labor Committee, oversaw the creation of the Hawaii Prepaid Health Care Act of 1974, which made Hawaii the first U.S. state to require minimum standards for the health care benefits offered to workers.
Yoshito Takamine, the oldest son and third child of his family's 14 children, was born on June 24, 1924, in Hakalau, Hawaii, to parents from Okinawa. His father, Tozo Takamine, had immigrated in 1919 from his home in Shimajiri Gun, Okinawa, to the island of Hawaii, where he worked on the plantations. Takamine's mother, Usa Takamine, who was also Okinawan, was a picture bride who married Tozo in a "shinpai" marriage three years later. Tozo and Usa Takamine lived and worked in Hakalau at the time of Yoshito Takamine's birth. Takamine's father worked on the plantations for 10 hours per day, six days a week. His mother grew vegetables and washed laundry for the "lunas," or supervisors, to bring in extra income.
Takamine graduated from Honokaa High School in 1944 and then worked for the now defunct Honokaa Sugar Company. He joined the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). Takamine became an ILWU business agent in 1950. He rose to become of the ILWU's union division director, which he held until his retirement from the local ILWU leadership in 1986.
A well known labor and union leader, Takamine was first elected to the Hawaii House of Representatives in 1958, when Hawaii was still a territory. Takamine, who served in the House of Representatives for 12 consecutive terms from 1959 until 1984, was the longtime chairman of the House Labor Committee during the 1960s and 1970s. He pushed through legislation aimed at protecting the rights of workers in Hawaii. Takemine's legislative achievements included the collective bargaining law, which granted public employees the right to unionize, the worker's compensation law, and the temporary disability insurance law.
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