Victory against Sound & Light subcontracting

In 2002, many of our hotel contracts were strengthened with new language to fight subcontracting. Recently, Starwood sought to ignore it and planned to outsource the Sound and Light work done at the Sheraton Waikiki and Royal Hawaiian to an outside company called PSAV. The Union filed a grievance and the case went to arbitration. The Union won the arbitration and saved 7 jobs after the arbitrator found Starwood’s plan to be a violation. The active engagement and preparation facilitated by the workers in the department made the case stronger. This case shows how workers can play a major role in their own case while improving chances for success.