FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AUGUST 8, 2024
Hawai‘i hotel workers authorize strike by 94% vote
HONOLULU, HI – Today, Hawai‘i hotel workers voted by an overwhelming 94% to authorize a strike at seven Waikiki hotels. Workers say that after months of negotiations, they are tired of being ignored by the offshore hotel owners and mainland operators. Workers are asking for raises that keep up with inflation and Hawai‘i’s high cost of living, and safe workloads & proper staffing associated with the quality of guest services and amenities our island visitors expect.
The strike vote covers nearly 5,000 workers represented by UNITE HERE Local 5, and now provides the Union’s negotiating committee the authority to call a strike at any time at any of the seven properties included in the vote: Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort, Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort & Spa, Moana Surfrider – a Westin Resort Spa, The Royal Hawaiian, A Luxury Collection Resort, Sheraton Princess Kaiulani, Sheraton Waikiki, and Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa.
“I am ready to strike for wages that allow me to me to take care of my family and proper staffing that allows me to take care of guests,” said Rachel Santos, hostess at the Moana Surfrider – a Westin Resort Spa. “I love my job, and I love my family, so I’ll do whatever it takes to protect them both.”
From 2019 to 2022, the U.S. hotel industry’s gross operating profit increased by 26.63%, while hotel staffing per occupied room decreased by 13%. In Hawai‘i, Revenue per Available Room increased by 23% from 2019 to 2023.
According to a recent survey of nearly 4,000 Local 5 workers, 76% of respondents cannot afford an unexpected bill of $500. 78% of respondents said they believe their employers took advantage of the pandemic to cut payroll and make changes not beneficial to workers.
Here in Hawai‘i and across North America, many hotels have kept COVID-era service cuts in place, including shuttering VIP lounges, reducing and in many cases removing food and beverage options like in-room dining, and more.
“It’s clear by the results of this strike vote that Hawaii’s hotel workers are ready to do whatever it takes to ensure that tourism works for all of us–not just some of us. We love our jobs and our guests, but enough is enough,” said Cade Watanabe, Financial-Secretary Treasurer. “This community needs our hotel owners and mainland operators to respect our work and pay us enough so that locals can get ahead, not just get by. And we need them to step up and respect our guests enough to address the systemic staffing and workload issues that make it hard for us to provide the quality of service that our guests deserve.”
Over 40,000 UNITE HERE hotel workers across the U.S. and Canada have contracts up for renegotiation this year and are calling on the hotel industry to “Respect Our Work” and “Respect Our Guests. Over 10,000 hotel workers in Baltimore, Boston, Honolulu, New Haven, Providence, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle will hold strike authorization votes in August. Last year, UNITE HERE members won record contracts after rolling strikes at Los Angeles hotels.
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UNITE HERE Local 5 represents 10,000 workers throughout Hawai‘I 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
