Hotel Workers Strike in Honolulu
U.S. Hotel Strikes Double in Size as Waikiki Hotel Workers Strike at Hilton’s Biggest Hotel; More Strikes Could Begin Soon
Honolulu, Hawaii – Around 2,000 hotel workers began a strike today at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, the world’s largest Hilton hotel and the biggest hotel in Hawaii. A total of over 4,000 hotel workers are now on strike at Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott hotels in Honolulu, San Diego, and San Francisco, and workers in all three cities say they will strike until they win new contracts. More strikes could begin soon.
Workers are calling for higher wages, fair staffing and workloads, and the reversal of COVID-era cuts. They are members of the UNITE HERE union, and they include housekeepers, front desk agents, cooks, dishwashers, servers, bartenders, bellhops, doormen, and more.
“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.”
“Hotel workers are going to strike for as long as it takes to restore respect for our work and our guests,” said Gwen Mills, International President of UNITE HERE. “The hotel industry is making record profits by cutting the hospitality experience for guests and leaving workers behind. But we know that these huge hotel corporations can afford wages that are enough to live on, workloads that don’t break workers’ bodies, and to reverse COVID-era cuts. We’re in a new stage of this fight, with thousands of hotel workers ready to stay on strike until we win what our families need.”
The union urges guests not to eat, sleep, or meet at any hotel that is on strike. Hotels may suspend services while trying to operate with skeleton staffing, and picket lines will run outside struck hotels for up to 24 hours a day. During earlier strikes, guests experienced disruptions including unavailable daily housekeeping, towels and linens piled up in hallways, piles of trash visible outside, closed bars and restaurants, and reduced pool hours. Guests are encouraged to consult the union’s travel guide and use its Labor Dispute Map at FairHotel.org, where they can search hotels by name or city to learn whether a hotel is on strike and find alternatives.
After months of contract negotiations, over 10,000 hotel workers across the U.S. went on strike on Labor Day weekend, most on limited duration strikes that ended after two or three days. More strikes followed in the subsequent weeks. Strike issues in all the cities remain unresolved, and negotiations are ongoing. Strike have been authorized and could begin at any time at additional hotels in Baltimore, Boston, Honolulu, Kauai, New Haven, Oakland, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, San Mateo County, and Seattle.
Hotel room rates are at record highs, and the U.S. hotel industry made over $100 billion in gross operating profit in 2022. But hotel workers report that their wages aren’t enough to support their families, and many have to work multiple jobs to make ends meet.
Meanwhile, staffing per occupied room was down 13% from 2019 to 2022 as many hotels maintained COVID-era cuts, causing some workers to lose jobs and income while increased workloads cause pain and stress for others. The union says that many hotels took advantage of the pandemic to cut staffing and guest services like automatic daily housekeeping and room service.
“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, a front desk 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.”
Last year, UNITE HERE members won record contracts after rolling strikes at Los Angeles hotels and a 47-day strike at Detroit casinos.