DoubleTree Hilton Alana Waikiki workers join UNITE HERE Local 5

Press Release for May 25, 2019

Media Contacts:
Paola Rodelas
Cell Phone: (808) 333-4782
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Bryant de Venecia
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DoubleTree Hilton Alana Waikiki workers join UNITE HERE Local 5

Local 5 and the hotel’s owner & operator reach an agreement that allows 80 DoubleTree hotel workers to choose to join the union

(Honolulu) – Today at 11:00am, 80 workers at the DoubleTree Hilton Alana Waikiki chose to join UNITE HERE Local 5. The union had reached an agreement with Keck Seng and Hilton—the owner and operator of DoubleTree Hilton Alana Waikiki, respectively—to allow a fair process for the workers to decide whether to unionize. Local 5’s newest union members work in housekeeping, front desk, food & beverage, uniformed services, and more.

This agreement continues a trend of growth for UNITE HERE 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. UNITE HERE Local 5 has seen tremendous membership growth in recent years. Since 2017, workers from Hilton Garden Inn, Hyatt Centric Waikiki, HMSHost in Kahului Airport and Lihue Airport, and United Airlines catering have joined Local 5.

The DoubleTree workers publicly called on the company for respect, safe workloads, and a fair process to decide whether to unionize starting on March 5. Last week, DoubleTree workers joined hundreds of workers at the Hilton Hawaiian Village who rallied outside the hotel demanding that one job should be enough to live in Hawaii.

“I am very excited that my coworkers and I are now members of Local 5. Thank you to all of the Local 5 members who stood in solidarity with us. We want to move forward with the company and are looking forward to negotiating our first union contract,” says Flora Matias, a housekeeper at the DoubleTree Hilton Alana.

Local 5 is working with the hotel’s owner and operator to begin negotiations as soon as possible.

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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