CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
Local 5 union workers picketed at The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Waikiki Beach on Thursday in retaliation for the non-union hotel supplying employees who were willing to work as strikebreakers at the striking hotels. Some 2,700 unionized hotel workers went on strike on Oct. 8 when negotiations between Unite Here Local 5 and Kyo-ya Hotels & Resorts, which owns the Marriott-managed Sheraton Waikiki, The Royal Hawaiian, Westin Moana Surfrider, Sheraton Princess Kaiulani and Sheraton Maui, reached an impasse.
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As one of many clergy meeting regularly with the striking hotel workers on the picket line these last six weeks, I am extremely disappointed in Kyo-ya and its position with regard to the current strikers.
The most recent wage proposals are completely inadequate. They do not provide a livable wage for the employees, nor get even close to what should be the norm in our society — that one full-time job is enough to support a family.
Management seems to believe it can wait out the workers as savings and resources dwindle. That is a disgraceful position. I wish to assure the owners of these hotels that we clergy are encouraging everyone we know, including every member of our many congregations, to advise their families and friends to avoid Kyo-ya hotels until its position on fair and just wages changes.
I am also a member of the Hawaii State Bar Association and I am likewise urging my fellow attorneys to act similarly until the position of hotel management changes. Shame on Kyo-ya.
The Rev. David J. Gierlach
Hawaii Kai
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