VICTORY! Ilikai workers reach tentative agreement ending strike within hours

On Friday, March 8, Ilikai workers reached a tentative agreement with the company and settled the strike that began earlier that day. At 6 a.m. workers walked off the job and announced they would be going on strike after going more than five years without a new contract.

At the time, Ilikai workers made $8/hour less than other Waikiki hotel workers, and the Ilikai hotel had not brought back automatic daily guestroom cleaning, while the majority of other Waikiki hotels have. Additionally, Ilikai guestrooms are twice the size of an average hotel guestroom and all include full kitchens.

“We do the same work as other hotel workers in Waikiki. We deserve the same pay and the same standard as them,” said Pamela Balintona a housekeeper at the Ilikai hotel.

Highlights of the tentative agreement:

  • Immediate wage increases that bring Ilikai workers up to standard with other Waikiki hotel workers
  • Immediate restoration of automatic daily room cleaning
  • Housekeeping workload improvements
  • Premium hourly increases for Bellman
  • Improvements to meal & transit pass subsidies
  • A process for dealing with newly introduced technologies
  • Retirement with dignity

“We’ve been fighting for six years to show that all of us workers at the Ilikai Hotel are not secondclass citizens, and today we finally won that fight,” said Merlinda Castro, housekeeper at Ilikai Hotel. “So many of us housekeepers are women who work hard every day to provide for our families so it means even more to me that we won a fair contract today on international woman’s day.”

*On Tuesday, February 20, 100% voted YES to ratify their contract.

Read and watch the news coverage at the links below:

KITV: Ilikai Hotel workers settle new contract on International Women’s Day
Star Advertiser: Ilikai Hotel workers reach tentative deal with company
Hawaii News Now: Unionized workers, Ilikai Hotel reach deal after hours-long strike

VICTORY! Food & Beverage workers at Hyatt Regency win grievance and backpay

In January 2024, waithelp at The Buffet at Hyatt Regency won their grievance against management and $13,000 in backpay.

Since June 2023, management had not been honoring the section in their CBA that said buffet waithelp should receive a 15% service fee for all comped meals. Pamela Toma, their shop steward, gathered receipts to show that management was in violation. Together, the workers organized to bring this issue to management and put a stop to this unfair practice.

Applications Now Open for Grocery Gift Cards for All Maui Hospitality Workers Affected by the Maui Fires

UNITE HERE Local 5 is pleased to announce that 1,000 – $100 grocery gift cards will be made available to all Hospitality workers on Maui affected by the Maui fires through the UNITE HERE Education & Support Fund.

Gifts cards will be available on a first come, first serve basis. To claim your gift card, please fill out this form and hit submit (one submission per worker) bit.ly/uniteheremauifiregc. Be sure to fill out all information and your CURRENT mailing address as well as your CELL phone number. We will contact you via text when your grocery gift card is available for pick up.

*To date, UNITE HERE Local 5’s Hardship Fund has raised and distributed over $250,000.00 in direct financial relief to Local 5 members & their families impacted by the Maui fires.

Maui Strong! Support our L5 Maui Siblings!

UNITE HERE Local 5 members work on the frontlines doing essential work in our health care facilities, hotels, and food service operations statewide.  The Local 5 Hardship Fund has been set-up to support these frontline workers in time of extraordinary need, and to offer direct financial assistance to Local 5 members.

Donate – http://www.uniteherelocal5.org