Over 1,800 Hawaiʻi hotel workers strike Hawaiʻi’s largest hotel and world’s largest Hilton resort

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SEPTEMBER 24, 2024

HONOLULU, HI – Hotel workers walked off the job at 5 a.m. and began an open-ended strike at Hawai‘i’s largest hotel and world’s largest Hilton resort, the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort. The strike impacts over 1,800 hotel workers represented by UNITE HERE Local 5 including housekeepers, front desk agents, restaurant workers, maintenance workers, and more. A total of over 4,000 hotel workers across the U.S. are now on open-ended strikes at Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott hotels in San Diego, San Francisco, and Honolulu.

This follows a historic Labor Day strike when over 10,000 hotel workers across the U.S. went on strike, including 5,000 Hawai‘i hotel workers at seven major hotels in Waikiki and one on Kaua‘i. Strikes are possible at any time at the other seven Hawai‘i hotels that have authorized strikes should strike issues remain unresolved.

“I am on strike again and this time I am ready to stay on strike for as long as it takes to win. While hotel companies make record profits, I am a single mom that has to work three jobs in order to support my family and be able to survive here in Hawai‘i,” said Aileen Bautista, Housekeeper at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. “We’re committed to bargaining and settling a contract, but since coming back to work after our 3-day limited duration strike and meeting with our employers for another bargaining session, they just don’t get it.”

After months of contract negotiations with Hilton, Hyatt, Kyo-ya, and Marriott, hotel workers say their biggest concerns have not been addressed: wages that keep up with inflation and cost of living, proper staffing and fair workloads, and the reversal of COVID-era cuts in guest services and amenities.

“I’m on strike because my workload is overwhelming and exhausting. I love my job and I want to take care of our guests, but with the understaffing I am stretched so thin,” said Jason Viveiros, Guest Service Agent at the Hilton Hawaiian Village. “My wife and I are expecting another child in a few months so having a reasonable workload would mean that instead of being physically and mentally depleted every day, I have the energy to take care of my family and their needs.”

According to a recent survey of nearly 3,500 Local 5 workers, 73% of respondents said they have had to make excuses for the company when guests complain. In another survey of nearly 4,000 Local 5 workers, 78% of respondents said they believe their employers took advantage of the pandemic to cut payroll and make changes not beneficial to workers.

“Hawai‘i can do better. Our community, our guests, and most importantly – our hardworking local families deserve a better, brighter future than the one our bosses are trying to impose on us. We’re on strike because we love our jobs, we love our guests and we love these islands we call home, and we’ll do anything to protect ourselves from the greedy corporations that seek only to profit off our hard work,” said Cade Watanabe, Financial Secretary-Treasurer.  “We’re taking the lead in pushing back against service cuts and defending Hawai‘i hotel jobs, but we can’t do it alone and call on the people of Hawai‘i to join us in pushing back against our offshore owners and mainland corporations.”

Since 2019, the U.S. hotel industry’s gross operating profit increased by 26.63%, while hotel staffing decreased by 13%. In Hawai‘i, the average daily rate of a hotel room increased 33% and the Revenue per Available Room has increased 23% since 2019. The union says that too many hotels took advantage of the pandemic by cutting staffing and suspending guest services that were never restored, causing workers to lose jobs and income – and creating painful working conditions for those who carry the increased workload.

###

About UNITE HERE Local 5
Local 5 represents 10,000 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.