Hilton Hawaiian Village and Hawaii Care & Cleaning (HCC) workers ratify union contracts
Press Release for July 10, 2019
Media Contacts:
Paola Rodelas
Cell Phone: (808) 333-4782
[email protected]
Bryant de Venecia
Cell Phone: (808) 546-0024
[email protected]
Hilton Hawaiian Village and Hawaii Care & Cleaning (HCC) workers ratify union contracts
These agreements brings workers closer to making one job enough to live in Hawaii
(Honolulu) – UNITE HERE Local 5 members who work at the Hilton Hawaiian Village and Hawaii Care & Cleaning (HCC), a subcontracted cleaning company that does housekeeping work at the hotel, voted overwhelmingly to ratify union contracts that cover nearly 2,000 workers.
The negotiating committees, which are made up of workers from various departments, worked with the company to reach terms that include wage and benefits increases, job preservation, worker involvement in the implementation of new technology and automation, and more. These are four-year agreement that expire on June 30, 2022.
The Hilton agreement is modeled after the contract agreement that was reached on November 27 with Kyo-ya, which own five Marriott-operated in hotels in Waikiki and Maui. Beginning in October 18, nearly 2,700 workers at the five hotels went on strike for 51 days with the demand that one job should be enough to live in Hawaii. It was part of a nationwide strike, involving over 7,700 Marriott workers from 23 hotels in eight cities.
In addition, the Hilton agreement includes historic provisions that benefit timeshare workers, setting a standard for timeshare workers across Hawaii’s tourism industry. Kyo-ya’s properties in Hawaii do not have timeshares, so these terms were not part of the Marriott agreement.
HCC workers also received significant wage and benefits increases and will have the option to be hired in-house by Hilton before the end of the contract. The union has been working to eliminate subcontracted housekeeping work in the hotel for 20 years. “This contract will really help my family. My fiance and I both work at HCC. Because of this new contract, my family will have $1,400 more per month starting in January because of the free medical coverage that HCC workers will finally get. Having a job that is more secure with paid medical and a retirement is a dream come true,” says Cesilee Linares, who works at HCC.
Because of the solidarity and support of the Hilton and HCC workers, 80 workers at the DoubleTree Hilton Alana Waikiki became members of Local 5 on May 25. This continues a trend of growth for Local 5 and union membership in Hawaii. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Hawaii’s union representation increased to 23.1% in 2018.
“We worked together to push the cart up the hill to win a good contract that brings us closer to making one job enough to live in Hawaii. It was not only the Hilton workers who worked together, but workers from HCC, DoubleTree, and the Kyo-ya members who went on strike so that all of our hotels can benefit from their fight,” says Lawrene Kanoa, a front desk worker at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.
Collective bargaining agreements at 20 Local 5 hotels expired in 2018. Eight Marriott-operated hotels have already settled, making the Hilton Hawaiian Village and HCC the 9th and 10th contracts settled. 10 hotel contracts have been settled, covering over 5,000 hotel workers. 10 more hotel contracts remain open and the “One Job Should Be Enough” campaign continues—for Local 5 members and the broader community.
Local 5 represents approximately 11,000 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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Notice re: Local 5 Election
Local 5 members:
You should have received an envelope in the mail with “UNITE HERE LOCAL 5 OFFICIAL BALLOT ENCLOSED” on it. This is your official ballot for the Local 5 election.
If you do not receive your ballot, please call the Election Committee Chair at 808-284-6635 or at the Local 5 office at 808-941-2141 x264, Monday-Friday from 7am-12pm.
Message from Local 5 President, Gemma Weinstein
Check this video of Local 5 President Gemma Garampil Weinstein
Submit your testimony to show strong support to Bill 85 and enforcement provisions in Bill 89 re: vacation rentals
Workers at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, the largest Hilton in the world, announce strike vote at International Women’s Day Rally
Press Release for March 8, 2019
Media Contacts:
Paola Rodelas
Cell Phone: (808) 333-4782
[email protected]
Bryant de Venecia
Cell Phone: (808) 546-0024
[email protected]
Workers at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, the largest Hilton in the world, announce strike vote at International Women’s Day Rally
Nearly 2,000 Local 5 members will be taking a strike vote on March 21 to send a clear, unified message that One Job Should Be Enough to live in Hawaii
(Honolulu) – UNITE HERE Local 5 members at Hilton Hawaiian Village rallied today at the world’s largest Hilton to demand a new contract for the hotel’s 2,000 workers. They announced that they will be taking a strike vote on March 21 to send a clear, unified message that One Job Should Be Enough to live in Hawaii.
Hundreds of workers and community members gathered on International Women’s Day to show strength and solidarity as members approach bargaining with Hilton. The rally also included non-union hotel workers from the DoubleTree Hilton Alana Waikiki who recently called on Hilton for a fair process to decide whether to unionize. The DoubleTree Alana is operated by the Hilton and owned by Malaysia-based Keck Seng. Every year, Local 5 organizes an action for International Women’s Day to honor and celebrate women, who comprise the majority of workers in Hawaii’s largest industry.
Local 5 represents over 1,800 workers at the Hilton Hawaiian Village – the largest hotel in Hawaii and the largest Hilton hotel in the world – as well as nearly 200 workers at Hawaii Care & Cleaning (HCC), who are subcontracted to do housekeeping work at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. Their union contracts expired in July 2018. Contract negotiations with Hilton will commence on March 22 and 23.
Local 5 members who work at Hilton are demanding a new contract that will put the workers on par with 2,700 workers from the five Marriott-operated hotels who went on a 51-day strike in 2018 to demand that one job should be enough to live in Hawaii.
On top of wage and benefits increase and workplace safety, Local 5 members at Hilton demand that the company address the issue of subcontracting and automation. “Subcontracting is rapidly encroaching our workplace and it needs to be eliminated. When you bring in more people from the outside, what is going to happen to my job? Also, we need to make sure that when jobs are automated and technology replace services, the workers can adapt to new roles and keep their jobs. We need the job security. I’m voting yes to strike because I want to have my future secured not only for myself and my family but also for the future generations, ” says Ruby Ann Rubina, a housekeeper at Hilton Hawaiian Village.
Subcontracted workers from HCC also call on Hilton to end subcontracting and bring the workers in-house so that they can be treated equally to the Hilton workers they work alongside. “The reason why I’m voting yes to strike is because I’ve been a member of Local 5 and pay my dues, but we don’t get the same benefits that the Hilton workers get. The only way we can get those benefits is to join them. I’m doing this all for my family. We don’t get full family medical coverage like the Hilton workers. My family needs this,” says Kenziro Kloulubak, a carpet technician at HCC.
Local 5 represents approximately 11,000 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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Sheraton Kauai workers ratify union contract
UNITE HERE! Local 5
For immediate release: February 15, 2019
Media Contact:
Paola Rodelas
Cell Phone: (808) 333-4782
[email protected]
Sheraton Kauai workers ratify union contract
This is the 8th Marriott-operated hotel in Hawaii to reach an agreement with Local 5, after Marriott workers led a historic nationwide strike in 2018
(KOLOA) – UNITE HERE Local 5 members who work at Sheraton Kauai voted overwhelmingly yesterday to ratify a union contract that covers over 200 workers.
The contract is modeled after the contract agreement that was reached on November 27 with Kyo-ya, which owns five Marriott-operated hotels. Beginning in October 2018, nearly 2,700 workers at the five hotels went on strike for 51 days with the demand that one job should be enough to live in Hawaii. It was part of a nationwide strike, involving over 7,700 Marriott workers from 23 hotels in eight cities.
Sheraton Kauai workers also authorized a strike, but they did not go on strike when nearly 2,700 Kyo-ya workers began striking on October 8. But the “One Job Should Be Enough” message nevertheless resonated with Sheraton Kauai workers.
“The Sheraton Kauai workers are grateful to the Kyo-ya workers who went on strike and paved the way to a great contract for everyone. We love Local 5!” says Edwin Pascua, a doorman at the Sheraton Kauai.
The new union contract includes job security; reductions in subcontracting of staff positions; worker involvement in the implementation of new technology and automation; a child/elder care fund; a reduction in workload for housekeepers; an increase in wages, an increase in pension contributions; and an increase in health and welfare contributions.
Collective bargaining agreements at 20 Local 5 hotels expired in 2018. With eight union contracts settled and 12 more hotel contracts remaining, the “One Job Should Be Enough” campaign continues. Local 5 now turns its attention to making one job enough for other hotel workers, other Local 5 members who work in healthcare and food service, and the broader community of working people.
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UNITE HERE Local 5 represents approximately 11,000 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 270,000 workers throughout the U.S. and Canada. For more information, visit www.unitehere5.org.