The Local 5 Executive Board has called a Special Membership Meeting to discuss and take action on a proposed dues increase. The Special Membership Meeting will be conducted in a series of sessions on the islands of Maui, Hawaii, Kauai, and Oahu:

Only members who will be affected (Tier 1 members) by the $10.00/month dues increase may vote. Tier 1 workers are those in the hotels (except for The Hale Koa Hotel, which is a Federal government employer) and those in Kaiser Permanente. Tier 1 members may vote at one session only. You must be a Local 5 member in good standing to attend this meeting. If you are unsure of your membership status, please call the Local 5 office at 941-2141 or toll free (800) 585-4373.

Voting on the dues increase will be by secret ballot. Ballots shall be sealed and stored after each session of the Special Membership Meeting, and counted immediately following the final session.

You will be asked to vote YES or NO on the following question:

“Shall Local 5 dues be increased by ten dollars ($10.00) per month effective January 1, 2020 for those union members in Tier 1?

A YES vote means that each Tier 1 member’s monthly dues shall be allocated to the Union’s strike and defense fund until the fund reaches $10 million and thereafter as necessary to replenish the fund to the $10 million level. When the strike fund balance has exceeded $10 million, two dollars from each Tier 1 member’s monthly dues shall be allocated to the strike fund. The fund shall be accounted for separately from the Union’s other assets but does not need to be segregated from those assets and may be commingled for custodial and investment purposes. The fund may be used to pay benefits to workers, whether they are yet members or not, who are not working due to a labor dispute arising from collective bargaining or organizing, including but limited to workers who are on strike or locked out due to their union activity. Expenditures from the fund shall be proposed by the Secretary-Treasurer and approved by the Executive Board. Expenditures may be made in accordance with policies set by the Executive Board without additional approval of specific items.”

The Local 5 Program has won every fight. At the Hotels. At Kaiser.

• Higher wages
• Strongest Job Security
• Secure Pensions
• No Monthly Deductions for Health Benefits

The companies want to end our winning streak. They don’t like how much our contracts cost them.

You have to decide if a few pennies more per hour in dues is worth what our contracts deliver. $0.06 more per hour in dues for full-timers will rebuild our Strike Fund and strengthen our Fight Funds to protect Local 5 members everywhere and boldly commit to growing our Union.

Voting YES means we’ll be ready. Voting no means we won’t. Your vote decides.

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 9^th and 10^th 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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