Over 500 HMSHost Honolulu airport workers went on strike Thursday in the midst of one of the busiest travel times of the year.
The union members, who are represented by Unite Here Local 5, work at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport’s concessions, restaurants, Starbucks, bars, pantry and maintenance departments where they serve nearly 10 million customers in Hawaii annually. Their collective bargaining agreement with the company expired in December 2018.
Workers, who voted overwhelmingly in November to authorize a strike, headed to the picket lines after determining their Dec. 10 and Dec. 11 contract negotiations with HMSHost “saw little movement.” Workers want better wages and benefits.
HMSHost did not respond to a request for comment from the Star-Advertiser.
>> PHOTOS: HMSHost employees walk picket lines at Honolulu airport
Carol Madrid-Tagle, a server at PGA Tour Grill for 20 years, said, “My husband and I both work at HMSHost. We love our jobs but we’re on strike because we deserve good wages and free union health care. For years, my husband worked two jobs, yet we still cannot afford a place big enough for our family. This fight is about getting what we need from companies like HMSHost that make billions off of our hard work.”
Scores of employees chanted and carried signs while walking the picket line in red shirts outside the departures area Thursday. Some visitors said the strike didn’t impact them, but others expressed surprise that some of the businesses were closed at the airport because all the employees were on strike. Union members said they planned to stay on strike for 24 hours until Sunday.
The Hawaii Department of Transportation urged passengers to bring their own food and snacks if they are traveling out of Honolulu during the three-day strike.
Local 5 represents approximately 11,500 workers throughout Hawaii who work in the hospitality, health care and food service industries. It’s the same union that represented Kyo-ya Hotel workers in last year’s 51-day strike, which involved workers at Hotel owner Kyo-ya’s Marriott-managed properties, including the Sheraton Waikiki, Royal Hawaiian Hotel, Westin Moana Surfrider, Sheraton Princess Kaiulani and Sheraton Maui.
The Kyo-ya strike, the longest hotel strike in modern times in Hawaii, ended with Kyo-ya offering hotel workers a new four-year contract with up to $6.13 per hour in pay and benefit increases. The union then used pattern bargaining to reach similar deals with other hotel companies.
The hotel strike caused dramatic repercussions for Hawaii’s hotel industry, which suffered from the impacts of negative publicity, especially on social media, into the first quarter. This latest strike doesn’t send a good message either, said Keith Vieira, principal of KV & Associates, Hospitality Consulting.
“It’s just a bad message at the wrong time,” Vieira said. “People are being warned to bring their own food that just creates more hassle for what should be a dream-filled vacation. Do we really need that at this time of year?”
Margaret Murchie, a Hawaii resident who uses the Honolulu airport on her frequent travels, said the strike is only going to exacerbate what is already a mostly negative impression at the airport. Earlier this year, J.D. Power reported that Daniel K. Inouye International Airport nearly topped a list of the nation’s worst airports for customer satisfaction, mainly because of construction, which tends to delay passengers and sour their travel experiences.
Only LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport were rated worse out of the 62 airports measured as part of the annual J.D. Power 2019 North America Airport Satisfaction Study, which is in its 14th year.
The study, which was fielded from October 2018 through September, attempted to measure satisfaction levels based on responses from 32,276 U.S. or Canadian residents who had traveled through at least one North American airport during the past three months. Travelers were asked to rate their overall satisfaction by scoring terminal facilities, airport accessibility, baggage claim, security check, check-in/baggage check and food, beverage and retail.
Murchie said constant airport construction has hurt Honolulu airport’s ambiance, although last month she’d noted some improvements to airport concessions. Since airplanes hardly serve food anymore, Murchie said airport food and beverage concessions are important to overall airport satisfaction.
“When I went to San Francisco, there was actually a bar near the United gates and you could buy a $17 Bloody Mary. Of course, you had to go past all the boarded-up areas, but at least they had nicer concessions with fresher food,” Murchie said. “Now what? This strike is just ridiculous and it’s causing a real mess.”
