A drop in visitor arrivals to Hawaii from the spread of the delta variant and COVID-19 containment measures is creating a new round of tourism sector layoffs, furloughs and reduced hours just as federal unemployment aid is ending. (read more)
WASHINGTON — Mary Taboniar went 15 months without a paycheck, thanks to the COVID pandemic. A housekeeper at the Hilton Hawaiian Village resort in Honolulu, the single mother of two saw her income completely vanish as the virus devastated the hospitality industry. (Read more)
Press release for August 6, 2021
Media Contact:
Bryant de Venecia
Cell Phone: (808) 546-0024
(Honolulu) – The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a complaint and notice of hearing against Hilton Hawaiian Village based on an unfair labor practice charge filed by UNITE HERE Local 5, a labor union that represents around 1,800 workers at the hotel.
Local 5 alleges that the Hilton Hawaiian Village—the largest hotel in Hawaii and the largest Hilton in the world—has refused to provide the Union with documents backing up the hotels’ claim that eliminating daily room cleaning was partially due to guest preference. By refusing to furnish the Union with these necessary documents, the NLRB determined that the hotel violated the National Labor Relations Act.
Hotels like Hilton Hawaiian Village are taking advantage of the pandemic to cut down labor costs by not providing daily room cleaning. The Union been calling on hotels to bring back daily room cleaning and other guest services so that workers can get back to work and guests can have a safe, quality vacation experience.
Housekeepers who have returned to work are suffering from fatigue and stress because it is more difficult to clean a room that hasn’t been cleaned for several days, sometimes weeks.
Hilton Hawaiian Village told the Union that it eliminated daily room cleaning in part due to guest preference. On March 16, 2021, the Union requested documentation supporting the hotel’s claim and, thus far, has received no responsive documents from the hotel.
Hilton Hawaiian Village has until August 17, 2021 to respond to the NLRB’s complaint. The NLRB has scheduled a hearing on this matter beginning on October 19, 2021.
Local 5 represents approximately 12,000 workers throughout Hawaii who work in the hospitality, health care and food service industries and is an affiliate of UNITE HERE, an international union that represents over 250,000 workers throughout the U.S. and Canada. For more information, visit www.unitehere5.org.
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Last summer, following months of tourism lockdown, Unite Here Local 5, which represents some 12,000 hospitality, health care and food service workers, called for stepped-up workforce protections to guard against COVID-19 as Hawaii framed a strategy for restarting its stalled economic engine. (read more)
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – As summer traveler numbers continue to climb, hospitality workers are not only wanting to return to work — they’re also calling for some hotels to bring back daily cleaning services. (read more)
Hawaii hotel workers are pushing for properties to reinstate daily room cleaning.
Hundreds of hotel workers rallied near The Modern Honolulu and the Ilikai Hotel & Luxury Suites throughout the day on Friday with signs declaring “bring our housekeepers back” and “bring back daily room cleaning.” (read more)