Hawaii's senior senator spoke out on the economy today, with solid advice for Hawaii people and businesses.

Sen. Daniel Inouye also had stern words for what he called oil predators, and he called on Hawaii unions and management to keep things moving.

The senator was the speaker at the annual Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii luncheon. He addressed a crowd of about 1,000 businesspeople -- with a sobering economic outlook.

"This crisis will be with us for much longer than most of us anticipate," Inouye said.

He’s talking about the crisis of oil prices. He blamed primarily oil nations and speculators.

"They are predators and they'll be treated like predators,” Inouye said, “taking advantage and exploiting the misery of the public. We'll do something about that.”

Here at home, with several big key labor contracts up in the air, the senator says he's been meeting with both unions and management during this visit.

"I suggested to some of them that now is not the time for disruption because the times ahead of us are going to be very, very challenging," Inouye said.

"I think both business and labor listen to that advice,” said James Toleffson, CEO of The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii. “We had some labor leaders here today."

Inouye said Hawaii can buffer its economy by staying on the path toward more clean, renewable energy sources. And he pointed out that federal construction is still a strong sector.

"Now we've got so much work that they've had to have special classes for plumbers, carpenters and electricians," Inouye said.
He said businesses can work together to pull through and even help the community with volunteerism.

"You'd be surprised by how much can be accomplished by just working together," he said.

"I think whenever the senator speaks, people listen,” Toleffson said. “And when the senator says we all need to work together and bring this together, we're all listening to him."

Inouye said Congress will try to confront the problem of oil prices and oil speculation, and while it's not yet clear what can be done about the airline issue -- especially Hawaii flights -- it's high on his radar.