After thousands of Hawaii hotel workers voted in favor of authorizing a strike, another group announced it too approved a possible work stoppage — which could also impact Hawaii’s tourism industry.
HONOLULU (Island News) — Thousands of hotel workers at more than a half dozen Waikiki properties threaten to strike, and they are not the only ones willing to walk off the job for better pay and benefits.
At Kainani Swimwear, business is slowing down after a busy summer, but owner Mindy Blas looks forward to the weekend when sales tend to pick up.
“The weekends are the busiest for us and especially the holiday weekend,” said Blas.
This holiday weekend celebrates Labor Day, a federal holiday when workers achievements are recognized.
But union workers for Local 5 Unite Here may use the busy holiday to strike, because their request for raises, safe workloads and proper staffing have not been met by the various hotels.
A strike during a busy weekend could hurt those hotels more and get negotiators back to the bargaining table.
The Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa is one of the hotels where a strike could take place, and that is where Kainani Swimwear is located.
“It is very concerning, because 60-70% of my customers are hotel guests,” stated Blas.
The Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach Resort & Spa is another property where workers could walk off the job.
A number of employees at shops and restaurants located there said they were unsure the impact a strike would have on their business.
Most were not expecting any additional increase in customers, but that could change if hotels have to shut down restaurants or services because of a lack of employees.
Hyatt’s Head of Labor Relations sent Island News this statement:
“We remain optimistic that a mutually beneficial agreement can be reached without a strike, and we look forward to continuing to negotiate a fair contract and recognize the contributions of our employees. While negotiations continue, we have plans in place so that hotel operations are not impacted by any demonstrations and expect to continue to provide all services.”
Local 5 workers are not the only ones approving a possible strike.
Hawaii flight attendants for United Airlines nearly unanimously voted to authorize a strike in order to get additional pay and benefits as contract changes have stalled.
“We’ve been in negotiations for three years now, and we are not making the progress at the negotiating table that we need,” said Kevin Batey, with the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA.
Some flight attendants demonstrated at Daniel K. Inouye Airport on Wednesday morning to let the airline know about the strike authorization vote.
“We are hoping this will bring pressure on management to get going at the negotiating table. We don’t want to go on strike, we want an agreement,” added Batey.
While hotel workers could strike any day, flight attendants would have to first tell the National Mediation Board there was an impasse in negotiations. That would be followed by a 30-day cooling off period. Then if things were still not resolved — flight attendants would be allowed to walk off the job.
