1516 S. King st. Honolulu, HI 96826
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.
Justice served for Moana Surfrider worker
Jeffrey Varga, Food Prep at the Westin Moana Surfrider, recently had three suspensions removed from his record and was awarded 18 days of back-pay. Jeff felt he was being railroaded to termination by the previous Executive Chef. Working with his shop steward, Alex Manog, and the Union staff he was able to make the case […]
The Modern Honolulu workers vote in favor of Local 5 representation
On May 15, workers at The Modern Honolulu strongly voted in favor of being represented by Local 5, keeping intact all of the benefits and protections of their union contract. 171 workers participated in the vote: 149 voted yes, 20 voted no, 1 ballot was voided, and 2 ballots were challenged. Workers are excited to […]
Kaiser Permanente backpays hospital aide for overtime
Congratulations to Hospital Aide Junior Tabonda for fighting for his rights and WINNING for all workers! On December 16, 2013, Kaiser Permanente Hawaii required Junior to go home at the beginning of his shift in order to avoid paying overtime. The Union and Junior fought back! Kaiser agreed to backpay Junior $388.60 for overtime. Kaiser […]
Leafletting in front of Bank of Hawaii
On May 10, Kaiser Permanente Hawaii workers lead another action to draw attention to the low pay of bank tellers. They passed out leaflets in front of Bank of Hawaii and called on Edward Pei, Kaiser Permanente Board Member and Hawaii Bankers Association Executive Director, to raise bank tellers’ pay. This is just the beginning […]
Valet wins grievance case
Kamu, a valet at The Modern Honolulu, took a stand for his seniority rights. The Modern Honolulu wrongfully changed his seniority, so he took action and presented the facts to Human Resources in a grievance meeting with the union. Kamu won his grievance case, and the employer corrected his seniority. The employer also agreed to […]
Transporter wins grievance against Kaiser Permanente
Kavika has worked at Kaiser Permanente as a Transporter for three years. Last year, he applied for a Maintenance Worker 1 position. He was denied even though he was fully qualified, and he was never given an in-person interview. Instead, Kaiser gave the position to a non- Kaiser worker. To make matters worse, in January […]
Allocation & Delegate Election Results
Hotel Contraction Allocation Vote – Election Results 1533 YES128 NO7 Spoiled International Union Delegation Convention – Election Results 2100 votes cast. 1975 good. 76 spoiled. 59 challenged. Eric Gill 1588 Adore Udani 425 Novena Agas 1537 Marilyn Custodio 411 Lydia Agustin 1516 Corazon Quinesares 392 James Bartolome 1510 Lolita Rodriguez 391 Evelyn Barnatia 1503 Raul […]
Workers at The Modern Honolulu receive over $23k in back wages
This past week, The Modern Honolulu was required to pay a total of $23,543.99 in back wages owed to current and former workers! The National Labor Relations Board found that the hotel unlawfully changed employment terms and paid workers less than they were owed. Congratulations to those workers who came forward to fight alongside the Union […]
Sign waving by the Bank of Hawaii Annual Shareholder Meeting
During the morning rush hour on April 25, Kaiser workers went downtown to sign wave and leaflet by the Bank of Hawaii‘s Annual Shareholder Meeting. We wanted to point out the hypocrisy of these big companies and their executives. Edward Pei, Kaiser Permanente Board Member and Executive Director of the Hawaii Bankers Association, is trying […]
Ala Moana Hotel workers ratify new contract
Honolulu (April 24, 2014) – With a resounding 159-1 vote, union hotel workers at the Ala Moana Hotel ratified a new contract that will improve the lives of 327 workers and their families and bring Hawai’i a step closer to providing good jobs for everyone. Hotel management agreed to match the new hotel contract that was […]