She served as an attorney for HSTA and its staff union
Posted: March 6, 2026
Colleen Hanabusa, a trailblazing lawmaker and longtime champion of public educators, the Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association, and unionized labor, died after a five-month battle with cancer early Friday. She was 74.
A longtime labor attorney, Hanabusa spent her life fighting for the rights of working people.
In November 1998, Hanabusa was elected the state senator from the 21st District, representing Wai’anae, where her family has lived for four generations, as well as Nānākuli, Ma’ili, Makaha, Mākua, and Ka’ena Point. Hanabusa served as Senate majority leader before being elected the first woman president of the Senate in 2006, making her the first Asian American woman to preside over a state legislative chamber in the United States.
She later represented Hawaii’s First Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015 and again from 2016 to 2019.
In 2016, the Hawaii State Ethics Commission said that teachers could not accept free travel for chaperoning field trips, and commission staff suggested that educators would have to pay for field trips out of their own pockets.
“Colleen Hanabusa stood with HSTA and the keiki of Hawaii. She took our case to Circuit Court and won. That allowed our teachers and our keiki to learn outside the classroom once again,” said then-HSTA President Corey Rosenlee.
Osa Tui, Jr., HSTA’s current president, said, “Congresswoman Hanabusa was a champion for labor and a longtime friend of HSTA.”
“When we received pushback about placing HSTA information in teacher boxes, she was there to back us up and help us win that case. When graduate students of the University of Hawai’i were trying to unionize, she quietly worked behind the scenes to help us and help them in their effort,” Tui said.
As a powerful legislator, she didn’t always take positions HSTA agreed on, including forcing our bargaining unit into the EUTF health benefits trust fund to help stabilize it many years ago. But her work in Congress and on behalf of workers allowed HSTA to back her in her final race when she ran for Honolulu mayor in 2020.
Former HSTA Executive Director Wilbert Holck said, “Colleen really did care about teachers, and that’s why she represented us.”
Hanabusa served as HSTA’s union attorney for a number of years and for a different period of time legally represented HSTA’s staff union, the Hawaiʻi State Teachers Staff Organization, known as HSTSO, when Holck was still on the HSTA staff and president of the HSTSO union, he said.
Holck said that in 2021 and 2022, Hanabusa worked legislative back channels, lobbying lawmakers to fund the compression fix that resulted in about 70% of the public school teachers in Hawaiʻi earning significant raises, anywhere from $7,700 to $26,000, depending on their years of experience, addressing those who have been stuck or compressed in the middle of the salary scale for years.
“She helped us with the compression bill or the repricing bill. She helped work behind the scenes to get that passed, and a lot of teachers benefited from that bill,” Holck said.
“She cared about what was happening to teachers. She cared about teacher pay. She cared about teacher housing, you know, and the lack thereof. And when she did represent us in a number of those areas, we did well,” Holck recalled.
Sometimes, Hanabusa worked for HSTA pro bono, charging nothing for her services. Other times, she was reluctant to bill the union, Holck remembered.
“There are a lot of things she didn’t charge us for. And one of the hardest things for me was getting her to give me a bill for the work she did. I always had to hound her about getting paid. Where’s the bill? We owe you money,” said Holck, who retired from HSTA in July of 2022.
HSTA Executive Director Andrea Eshleman said, “I had the privilege of working with Colleen Hanabusa on a number of legal and legislative issues over the years. She was a brilliant labor attorney who was equally skilled at drafting legislation and arguing cases in court.”
“She believed the labor movement needed more lawyers willing to fight for workers’ rights, and she encouraged many of us to consider pursuing law school and careers in public service or labor law. Her mentorship helped shape a generation of advocates for working people,” said Eshelman, who graduated from the University of Hawaiʻi William S. Richardson School of Law in 2024.
Hanabusa earned three degrees from UH Mānoa: an undergraduate degree in Economics and Sociology, a graduate degree in Sociology, and a law degree.
Gov. Josh Green ordered flags across Hawaiʻi to be flown at half staff until Monday in remembrance of Hanabusa.
“Jaime and I extend our deepest aloha and sympathy to the Hanabusa ʻohana and to all who loved Colleen,” Green said in a statement.
Green said that Hanabusa “spent decades advocating for her community with strength, determination and heart. Her legacy of leadership and public service will continue to inspire generations to come.”
U.S. Sen. Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) released a statement in tribute and said, “Colleen was a fierce advocate who had strong beliefs and fought for them with conviction. I had the privilege of working with Colleen in Congress, where together we worked to continue strengthening the trust relationship between the federal government and the Native Hawaiian community. I’m grateful to have known Colleen and to have worked alongside her.”
U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-HI) called Hanabusa “a mentor and good friend.”
“As Senate president, she led with her heart and incomparable smarts. She stood by me during some of my toughest battles; as a young mother in the chamber, she never once questioned that I could both lead and nurture. In so many ways, she was a trailblazer and a fighter who left an indelible mark on Washington, D.C., during her time in Congress. We are all better because of her leadership and service,” Tokuda said.
Hanabusa is survived by her husband, John Souza, and their beloved dogs, Frannie and Pupper.
Tui, HSTA’s president, concluded with final words to Colleen and her family, and said, “Mahalo, Colleen, for your years of service, advocacy, and sage advice on topics big and small. Your work has helped to make Hawai’i a better place. Condolences to your friends and family on the sad occasion of your passing.”