Hotel workers prepare for possible union strike

After voting "yes" for a strike, Godfrey Maeshiro transferred money from his account at the Sheraton credit union to his checking account.

"If we strike, then I won't have to cross the picket line to get funds from the Sheraton credit union," said Maeshiro, a bellman at Sheraton's Princess Kaiulani hotel. "It's like preparing for a hurricane. I will have more peace of mind if I had all the supplies on hand."

Approximately 80 percent of the 1,500 union workers at the Hilton Hawaiian Village and 2,500 workers at the four Sheraton properties — Sheraton Waikiki, Royal Hawaiian, Princess Kaiulani and Moana Surfrider — favored a strike last week. Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Local 5, the union that represents the workers, has been negotiating with the hotels for the past couple of months.

Primary on their agenda is job security for workers, as hotels resort to contracting out jobs. The union seeks increased contributions from hotels into a health-care reserve fund, a joint program between hotels and the union to pay for claims and unexpected disasters for workers for three months after they lose jobs.

Many union workers believe the strike vote will bring the hotels to the table with a serious intention of concluding the talks, and not prolong the discussion, said Jason Ward, Local 5 spokesman.

"I voted for the strike because I want to get this negotiation moving," Sheraton employee Maeshiro said. "We are trying to secure job security, because raises and benefit increases won't do me much good if I don't have a job."

Maeshiro and most of his older coworkers on the morning shift are prepared financially this time around, he said.

"Compared to 1990 we're better off for sure," he said. "I was younger, I did [my] share of picket duty but was glad to get back to work. Now, I've consolidated loans, not made any big vacation trips, made better investments and I'm in a better financial situation than I've ever been. I've been looking after my health as well. I think if you get body and health in good shape, you can take on any kind of challenge."

To keep morale up and feed the picketing workers, Local 5 rented a 1,600-square-foot strike headquarters on Kalakaua Avenue this week. The space comes equipped with a kitchen, food pantry and all stock necessary to prepare for a strike.

To help workers financially, the union has developed a compensation plan. If union workers at the Hilton and Sheraton strike, they would get $150 per person each week for the first two weeks. The funds come from the AFL-CIO, the national parent of Local 5. If the strike continues into a third week, workers would be paid $200 a week — $100 from the AFL-CIO, $50 from Unity House, and $50 from Local 5. All workers at the striking hotels will be eligible for compensation if they do picket duty for 20 hours a week. Also, workers will continue to get medical benefits for three months after the start of a strike.

Local 5 would provide members with credit counseling and has sought leniency, in the event of a strike, from financial institutions for car and mortgage payments.

The union is working to garner public support and has obtained help from the clergy to start a food drive. On Wednesday, the First Christian Church held a food drive to support workers and their families, in case of a strike.

The time is ripe for the Sheraton to grow some gonads and let these fat and lazy boys and girls strike.

Hawaii is a fiscally dying Socialist state, but these "deserving" union workers (most haven't a high-school education) continue to threaten strikes.

As with the ILWU, they should strike. And strike now, without delay. Strike now while the Islands waste away from Government and Corporate fraud and outright "in your face" corruption.

The time for showdowns is now, while we are at war and while the country has a president who wears the pants rather than dropping them...

I never understood why if employers couldn't agree with the Union they couldn't just let them go and find workers who will work under a described set of conditions for money offered!
Why can't the employers just say, we agree to disagree and I wish you luck at your next job.
There are tons of people lined uo to do the work for less I am sure.

I feel that today a union is a blackmail device.
Like miniature Jesse Jacksons!

Hawaii has been a Democrat/Union state since WW2.

Years ago when "The Big Five" corporations ran the Economy here, the unions served a fine and useful purpose, that of keeping the corporate structure from abusing the worker rights.

That corporate structure has disappeared, but in its place the Unions have grown, and now the Union is the abuser, the abuser of the tax paying citizen of Hawaii.

My better half comes from leadership in the old ILWU (the original stevedores) and we have blow-by-blow descriptions of the way the unions used to be beneficial.

Even he, a leader, is now pissed at the Hawaii Unions across the board.

The unions no longer serve a purpose, except to keep the worker in "their place", which means uneducated socialists who follow propaganda rather than think for themselves...

I'm a former union member, and my wife is still a union member... at our house, anything from the union is tossed in the trash on my way back into the house... ;0)

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