Hotel officials had little to say in response, but issued a statement saying they had plans in place to ensure the hotels could still provide guests a good experience if workers do decide to strike.<\/p>\n Although the vote means union workers could walk off the job at any time, a strike authorization vote often is enough to get management to budge, said Eric Gill, financial secretary and treasurer of UNITE HERE Local 5<\/a>, which represents some 12,000 hospitality and health care workers statewide.<\/p>\n \u201cThe vote itself will put pressure on management,\u201d Gill said.<\/p>\n Local 5\u2019s contract expired in June, and some 50 items are at issue as the parties discuss a new one, Gill said. These range from the number of rooms housekeepers must clean per shift to policies to protect workers from sexual harassment and how to retrain workers whose jobs become less crucial due to automation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to come to an agreement with Marriott, but our members are preparing for a strike if contracts are not settled soon,\u201d Gill said. \u201cOur proposal is to make one job enough to live in Hawaii. Marriott\u2019s proposal is to get another job.\u201d<\/p>\n All of the hotels in question operate under management contracts with Marriott<\/a>, which acquired Starwood Hotels and Resorts for $13.6 billion in 2016<\/a>\u00a0to become the world\u2019s largest hospitality company, with more than a million rooms operated under dozens of brands including Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, W Hotels, Westin, Sheraton and Le Meridien.<\/p>\n Although Marriott manages the hotels under various brand flags, Kyo-Ya owns the bulk of them and is negotiating with the union, Gill said. Marriott executive are negotiating only for the Waikiki Marriott.<\/p>\n Marriott\u2019s corporate communications staff in Oahu declined to comment. A spokeswoman for Kyo-Ya Hotels & Resorts, meanwhile, issued a short statement saying Kyo-Ya looked forward to further talks with the union.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough we are in continued contract discussions with UNITE HERE Local 5, we respect the right of our associates at Kyo-ya\u2019s five properties in Hawaii to take a strike authorization vote,\u201d said the statement attributed to Kyo-Ya.<\/p>\n The vote comes as tourism is booming and the unemployment rate is practically nil. Visitors to the state spent $1.66 billion in July 2018, an increase of 4.8 percent compared to the previous years, the Hawaii Tourism Authorit<\/a>y reported in its latest preliminary data. Hotel room rates in Waikiki have been averaging about $230 with occupancy rates hovering higher than 80 percent, according to the HTA. Meanwhile, the state\u2019s unemployment rate of about 2 percent<\/a>\u00a0means that many employers are scrambling to find and keep workers.<\/p>\n Hawaii\u2019s high cost of living makes it increasingly difficult for workers to make ends meet, and Gill said that the low unemployment rate masks the fact that many people need to work multiple jobs to survive.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not booming for us,\u201d Gill said. \u201cIt\u2019s booming for the bosses.\u201d<\/p>\n Thanks to cost-of-living wage increases, a union housekeeper now earns $22.14 an hour and gets health care coverage for the worker and the worker\u2019s family, Gill said. But, he added, it\u2019s simply not enough in a community where the median price of a single-family home is nearly $800,000<\/a>. In addition, he said, many workers, like housekeepers and banquet staff, don\u2019t get enough regularly scheduled hours to earn a living without working extra jobs.<\/p>\n \u201cEven with all the increases, people are still falling behind,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The union has asked for across-the-board raises of $3 an hour for all workers as a starting point for talks, Gill said, adding Kyo-Ya and Marriott haven\u2019t made a counter-offer. Gill said he hopes the vote will send management a message.<\/p>\n \u201cThey don\u2019t really respect you unless you have power in the situation,\u201d Gill said. \u201cIf we have the right to strike, they have to respect us.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Unite](\"https:\/\/d1l18ops95qbzp.cloudfront.net\/wp-content\/2018\/09\/10160618\/Unite-5-Local-5-Vote-to-Strike-ballots-voting3-640x428.jpg\")
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