Hotel workers walk off job, begin open-ended strike at Hilton Hawaiian Village

WAIKIKI, Hawaii (KHON2) — More than 1,800 Hawaii hotel workers are on strike.

The workers walked off the job at 5 a.m. and began an open-ended strike at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort.

“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.

The workers, represented by UNITE HERE Local 5, include housekeepers, front desk agents, restaurant workers, maintenance workers and more.

The move follows months of negotiations between the union and Hilton, Hyatt, Kyo-ya and Marriott. Open-ended strikes are happening in San Diego and San Francisco as well.

According to the union, a survey of nearly 4,000 Local 5 workers showed 78% of respondents 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.

A strike earlier in the month saw 5,000 Hawaii hotel workers at seven major hotels walk out.