Ala Moana Hotel contract is ratified by union workers

Ala Moana Hotel workers are looking forward to being paid the same as workers at many major Waikiki hotels after ratifying a new labor contract that will make pay parity a reality in several years.

Unite Here! Local 5, the union representing many local hotel workers, announced the contract Thursday.

The new labor agreement will increase wages and benefits for Ala Moana’s 327 unionized employees at a rate that by 2020 will match compensation scales of other major hotels with workers represented by Local 5, including Hilton Hawaiian Village. Sick-leave provisions also were equalized.

Local 5 said the new contract, which is with an affiliate of Outrigger Hotels &Resorts, represents the first time in 27 years that Ala Moana workers will be paid on par with major Waikiki hotels.

Liza Pintor, an employee in the Ala Moana Hotel’s accounting department, said in a statement that everyone is happy with the new contract.

"After so many years, we finally received what we deserve and are being recognized like the other hotels in Waikiki," she said.

The ratification vote was 159-1.

The term of the contract runs through at least 2023, though hotel management agreed to amend the contract to match terms of any new contract agreed to by Hilton Hawaiian Village, Local 5 said. Hilton’s existing contract expires in 2018.

Bill Comstock, Ala Moana Hotel general manager, said in a statement that the new contract is great news.

"We deeply value the contributions that each of our 300 Ala Moana Hotel employees provide to enhance the guest experience at our hotel," he said. "We’re pleased to offer appropriate payment and advancement opportunities that make Ala Moana Hotel a kamaaina favorite not just for our guests, but also for our staff."

The 1,150-room Ala Moana Hotel on the edge of Waikiki adjacent to Ala Moana Center and near the Hawaii Convention Center has lagged in worker pay partly due to its position in the market and having been converted to a condominium-hotel in 2005.

As a condo-hotel, all the rooms were sold to individual investors who have the option of having Outrigger manage the rooms for a share of revenue.

In 2007, Local 5 said Outrigger contended that the conversion meant less revenue for the hotel and an inability to meet union desires over contract terms.

Local 5 said Thursday that Ala Moana workers are paid 53 cents an hour less on average than major Waikiki hotel workers with Local 5 contracts.

When factoring in the value of medical coverage and pension benefits, the low end of hourly pay at the hotel will equalize at about $31.

"Bringing another hotel up to that level brings Hawaii’s working people closer to achieving $31 for everyone,"the union said in a statement.