LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i hotel union workers joined the thousand of workers across the nation that went on strike this past Labor Day weekend.
On Kauai, workers at the Sheraton Kauai Resort walked out of the job and demanded change. The three-day strike, which began on Sunday, Sept. 1, and ran to Tuesday, Sept. 3, came after months of contract negotiations.
“For the past couple weeks I’ve worked 25 days straight with no days off,” said Raylene (Sissy) Kahale, a front desk worker for the Sheraton Kauai Resort for the past 30 years.
“I come in on my shift and I don’t know if I’m going to work 18 hours. Our housekeepers are overworked (and) the night cleaners don’t have enough staffing.”
UNITE HERE Local 5 said it is far from agreeing to solutions to the top concerns they have raised, including wages that keep up with inflation and the cost of living, proper staffing and fair workloads, including the reversal of COVID-era cuts in guest services.
“Cost of living has gone up, everyone knows this especially here in Hawai‘i, yet my paycheck hasn’t gone up. A lot of our employees live paycheck to paycheck. My two kids have moved to the mainland because it’s too expensive. There is no sustainability here,” Kahale said.
“It’s so overwhelming, we want them to respect us as workers, respect me, the job we are doing for them, the island has a lot to offer, and so do we, but when we are (understaffed) everyone loses.”
According to Kahale, the Sheraton Kauai Resort is currently at a 95 percent capacity and has the highest return guest number in the state. However, they are still understaffed. She’s struggling to make ends meet and hasn’t been able to go on vacation.
“I’ve dedicated the last 30-plus years to this property, I love my job, I love servicing my guests, we have one of the highest return guest numbers in the state our little hotel. They don’t understand the loyalty we have. We want them to respect us as workers, respect me, the job we are doing for them, the island has a lot to offer and so do we, but when we are (understaffed) everyone loses.”
According to a recent survey of nearly 3,500 Local 5 workers, 73 percent of respondents said they have had to make excuses for the company when guests complain. In another survey of nearly 4,000 workers, 78 percent of respondents said they believe their employers took advantage of the pandemic to cut payroll and make changes not beneficial to workers.
“When Marriott hires anyone, we get drilled about the standard, the guest standard, the hotel standard. But where is the standard for your employees? We do all we can and its not enough for them,” Kahale said.
She added, “Marriott sign our contract, do what is right for the people and for your guests.”
The strike was also a reflection of the state of the industry.
“Hawai‘i’s hospitality industry is in crisis – not because of workers or the pandemic that ended more than two years ago or even the changing demographic of our guests – we’re in crisis because of the lack of respect and care our offshore hotel owners and mainland companies have for all of us,” said Local 5 Financial-Secretary Treasurer Cade Watanabe in a statement.
Hawai’i Labor law needs one huge change: any overtime pay should begin after working any 8 hours shift, not after working 40 hours per week. Too many have been taken advantage. After working more than 8 hours per shift, they are told to go home towards the ending of the week so no overtime will be paid.