HONOLULU — Hotel workers and members of a hospitality industry union were picketing a Honolulu hotel after it recently outsourced its concierge desks.
HONOLULU — Hotel workers and members of a hospitality industry union were picketing a Honolulu hotel after it recently outsourced its concierge desks.
The dozens of workers and members of the Local 5 union were demonstrating at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel on Waikiki Beach on Friday after its owner Kyo-ya Hotel and Resorts subcontracted its concierge work to the travel company Pleasant Holidays, Hawaii News Now reported .
“We are very disappointed in the decision that has been made by our ownership to outsource our concierge desk to a travel desk,” said Wendy Nagaishi, head concierge for the hotel. “We’ve had the concierge desk for almost 30 years now.”
The company also owns the Moana Surfrider, the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel and the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani Hotel in Honolulu. Union members at these hotels were also picketing.
In a statement, the company said the 42 concierge employees were offered the opportunity to join the travel company with greater compensation, to apply to transfer to a position within the company’s hotel network or to take a severance package.
“At our hotels, there will be no loss of concierge services,” the company said in the statement. “We are confident that our partnership with Pleasant Holidays will allow us to continue to provide the highest level of service our guests have come to expect from our properties.”
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Information from: KGMB-TV, http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/
