UNITE HERE Local 5 represents 10,000 workers in Hawaiʻi who work in the hotel, healthcare, & food services industries.We welcome inquiries from the media regarding our industries, members, policy and politics, and other issues of concerns to Hawaii workers.

Please contact:
Angelina Spence, Communications Organizer • [email protected] • (808) 391-6988

IN THE NEWS

Queen Kapiolani Hotel workers voted overwhelmingly to authorize strike, with 97% ‘YES’ votes

UNITEHERE! Local 5 Press Release for April 1, 2022     Media Contact: Bryant de Venecia Cell Phone: (808) 546-0024 [email protected]   Queen Kapiolani Hotel workers voted overwhelmingly to authorize strike, with 97% ‘YES’ votes In 2018, Local 5 won the Waikiki Standard after a victorious 51-day strike. Today, Queen Kapiolani hotel workers say, “It’s […]

Elections 2022 Lt. Gov. Josh Green Is Racking Up Union Endorsements, Adding To His Momentum

The primary election is still nearly five months away and only a handful of candidates have formally filed to run, but Lt. Gov. Josh Green and state Rep. Sylvia Luke are already emerging as two of the biggest beneficiaries in the biennial union endorsement sweepstakes.

Predatory Hotel Investment Trusts Are Decimating Workers’ Rights and Democrats’ Most Loyal Unions

Ninety-eight percent of hotel workers were laid off when the pandemic hit. Real estate investors smelled an opportunity.

Editorial: Time to rethink impact of REITs

Unite Here Local 5 members were protesting at the state Capitol that the hotels where they work get a benefit from the tax code while many of its members, the hotel workers themselves, have not been called back since the pandemic shut down tourism.

Hawaii hotel workers rally for bill to eliminate tax exemption

Honolulu – Unionized hotel workers Thursday demonstrated outside the state Capitol to support a bill that would eliminate a tax exemption for some companies that own hotels and other commercial real estate in Hawaii. (Read more…)