Thousands of workers at Hilton Hawaiian Village protest for fair wages, job security, and reinstated services

Around 2,000 unionised workers initiated a strike at Hawaii’s largest hotel, the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort, at 5 a.m. on Tuesday. The strike, which is expected to be open-ended, seeks to address various issues, including higher wages, improved working conditions, and the restoration of services that were reduced during the pandemic, such as daily room cleaning.

This strike is part of a broader wave of hotel workers’ actions across the United States. Currently, over 4,000 employees at Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott hotels in Honolulu, San Francisco, and San Diego are on strike. The UNITE HERE union has announced that the workers will continue to strike until new contracts are agreed upon, warning that more actions may follow.

The workers’ protest has disrupted hotel operations, with visitors hearing chants and drum beats from the striking employees. Workers carried signs bearing slogans such as “One Job Should Be Enough,” highlighting the struggles of many Hawaii residents who must hold multiple jobs due to the state’s high living costs. Among their demands is the return of daily room cleaning, which had been cut during the pandemic.

Aileen Bautista, a single mother and housekeeper at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, stated that she holds down three jobs to make ends meet and is prepared to remain on strike until the workers’ demands are met. “I’m ready to stay on strike for as long as it takes,” she said.

The strike comes amid ongoing disputes in the state’s healthcare sector, with over 600 nurses locked out at the Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women & Children following their own strike earlier this month. Hawaii’s Governor, Josh Green, and Attorney General, Anne Lopez, have urged for federal mediation to help resolve the labour issues affecting both healthcare and hospitality workers.