Hilton's largest hotel affected as US hotel strikes return to Hawaii

25.09.2024 - 18:45 / thepointsguy.com

An ongoing hotel labor strike in the U.S. is once again underway in Hawaii, where roughly 2,000 workers at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort began an indefinite walk-off this week.

Thousands of hotel workers who are members of various Unite Here labor union chapters have gone on strike intermittently since Labor Day, amid a national dispute between hospitality workers and hotel owners. Since many hotel labor contracts expired Aug. 31, workers have been negotiating for higher wages, better working conditions and more employee protections.

Limited strikes previously took place over Labor Day weekend in several other cities, including Boston and San Francisco, but, for the most part, ended after several days of work stoppages. Employees at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront have been striking since the beginning of the month and say they will continue to strike until a new contract deal is struck.

Workers at the Hilton Hawaiian Village were previously on a short-term strike over Labor Day but are now on indefinite strike like their counterparts at the Hilton in San Diego.

"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," Aileen Bautista, a housekeeper at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, said in a statement. "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."

More than 4,000 workers are now on indefinite strike at Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott properties in Honolulu, San Diego and San Francisco. In addition to the previously mentioned hotels in Honolulu and San Diego, indefinite strikes are also underway in the Bay Area at the Grand Hyatt San Francisco, the Hilton San Francisco Union Square and the Westin St. Francis San Francisco on Union Square.

Those workers say they will remain on strike until they win new contracts, according to a Unite Here release. Hilton maintains there are contingency plans in place for strikes like the one underway at its affiliated properties in Honolulu, San Diego and San Francisco.

"Hilton makes every effort to maintain a cooperative and productive relationship with the unions that represent some of our Team Members, and we remain committed to negotiating in good faith to reach fair and reasonable agreements that are beneficial to both our valued Team Members and to our hotels," a Hilton spokesperson said, a position the company has maintained since the beginning of the strikes. "We are also fully committed to