Higher wages, proper staffing among top issues in strike at Hawaii’s largest hotel

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Hilton Hawaiian Village, the largest hotel in Hawaii, is on strike by UNITE-HERE Local 5.

Union members, including 1,800 housekeepers, front desk personnel, food service workers and others, walked off the job at 5 a.m. Tuesday without prior announcement and began an “open-ended strike.”

They joined brother locals already striking Hyatt and Marriott properties in San Francisco and San Diego.

Workers at seven major Hawaii resort hotels all approved strike authorizations, freeing Local 5 to choose its targets and call strikes at any time.

UNITE-HERE asserts that since 2019 U.S. hotel gross profits are up over 26% but staffing remains down 13%. Hotels sought to control costs during the inflation surge two years ago, but employees faced an identical problem in their personal finances.

This strike comes after more than 10,000 hotel workers across the country, including 5,000 workers in Hawaii, went on strike on Labor Day.

The union said after months of contract negotiations, the workers’ biggest concerns have still not been addressed. They’re demanding increased wages, fairer workloads, and a reversal of COVID-era cuts in guests services and amenities.

“I am on strike again and this time I am ready to stay on strike for as long as it takes to win. While hotel companies make record profits, I am a single mom that has to work three jobs in order to support my family and be able to survive here in Hawaii,” said Aileen Bautista, a housekeeper at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

“We’re committed to bargaining and settling a contract, but since coming back to work after our 3-day limited duration strike and meeting with our employers for another bargaining session, they just don’t get it.”