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

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.

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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 providing guests with our signature hospitality and our hotels have contingency plans in place to ensure operations continue to run as smoothly as possible."

But Unite Here notes earlier strikes resulted in reduced housekeeping services, closed bars and restaurants, trash and linen pileups, and reduced pool hours at affected hotels. Hotel contingency plans sometimes mean shifting nonunionized workers from other departments into affected roles.

It's something to keep in mind if you have an upcoming trip to the Hilton Hawaiian Village or any of the other affected hotels in the next weeks.

"Hotel workers are going to strike for as long as it takes to restore respect for our work and our guests," Gwen Mills, international president of Unite Here, said in a statement. "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."

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