HONOLULU, Hawaii—A week after talks with the chain that owns five Marriott hotels in Hawaii broke
down, the union representing the 2,700 striking workers said the Kyo-ya Hotels and Resorts company has not tried to schedule any further negotiations. “We haven’t heard anything from Kyo-ya about contract negotiations,” UNITE HERE Local 5 spokesperson Michael Kirby, a Westin Moana Surfrider employee, told Pacific Business News. “We have specific demands that we are asking for, and we’d like them to come to the table to discuss with us. Yet they have simply put us off.” The contract expired in June. Kyo-ya put out a statement saying it is “ready to welcome them back,” but is offering $23 an hour to strikebreakers working as housekeepers, pool attendants, valets, and more. The union is using the slogan “One Job Should Be Enough,” citing a 2018 study by the National Low Income Housing Coalition that Honolulu-area residents need to make $39 an hour to rent a two-bedroom apartment that doesn’t cost more than 30% of their income. “That’s why Hawaii’s people have to work several jobs just to get by,” Local 5 secretary-treasurer Eric Gill said in a statement. Read more
