HOW DID IT GET THIS WAY?

I was ten years old when I found an unused sewing machine tucked away in the back of the linen closet. I taught myself how to sew — lots of bedsheets went missing in the process. By the time I reached high school, I was learning how to make patterns from Mrs. Hamada on Beretania Street, designing prom gowns for friends and producing fashion shows. 

I was so sure of where I was going after graduation that I applied to just one college: The Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC. I got in, got my degree, and was working my dream job when I was stopped short by discrimination. My boss’s biggest corporate client called her at home to say they didn’t want to work with a transgender woman. It was the early ‘90s; the laws at that time entitled employers to commit acts of bigotry while leaving employees with no recourse. I was constructively terminated. 

Growing up in Hawaii, I worked weekends, holidays, and summers at the company my grandparents started. Among my 500 co-workers was a trans woman who was also a supervisor; she was respected for her competence and work ethic. Coming from that environment, it never occurred to me that an employer would try to force someone out of their job because of who they were. 

Shock turned to anger as I realized how often this kind of discrimination shoved people to the margins of society and forced them to rely on high-risk enterprises to pay rent and put food on their table. I felt immense gratitude that I had the support of my family and friends to get me through that trauma; I also felt a strong conviction to combat that injustice. 

Leaving the fashion industry and enrolling in law school was the first step: I needed to learn how these laws were made so I could change them. I got my law degree, passed the bar in Hawaii, and for the next 11 years, collaborated with other activists, allies, and labor unions to expand Hawaii’s civil rights laws, including the one that currently protects trans employees in the workplace. 

I know what it’s like to be on the receiving end of pettiness and discrimination; I have seen how bigotry leads to hardships for the working class. I lived it, and it changed me. This is why I stand with labor.

Please join our campaign to bring proactive leadership to our State Capitol. 
Together, we CAN!