Princeville Hotel workers who were originally scheduled to vote today on whether to unionize will have to wait a few weeks to cast their ballots. On Monday, the National Labor Relations Board on O‘ahu agreed to postpone the election at
Princeville Hotel workers who were originally scheduled to vote today on whether to unionize will have to wait a few weeks to cast their ballots.
On Monday, the National Labor Relations Board on O‘ahu agreed to postpone the election at the request of one of the two unions vying to represent the hotel’s 300-plus employees.
According to the board’s officer-in-charge, Tom Cestare, Unite Here! Local 5 intervened to request that additional staffers be allowed to vote.
Local 5 is a branch of Unite Here!, a national union that represents dozens of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Inc. properties, including the Sheraton Kauai Hotel & Resort in Po‘ipu. Starwood is also the Princeville Hotel’s parent company.
While Local 5 has negotiated contracts for 3,200 Starwood workers statewide and is interested in adding Princeville to that list, the union was not the first on the scene, according to International Longshore and Warehouse Union representative Tracy Takano.
Takano said Local 142 of ILWU, which represents the Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa on-island, has been talking to Princeville workers about organizing for two years.
With Starwood’s plans to renovate the Princeville Hotel and upgrade it from the Luxury Collection to its St. Regis brand, Takano said employees are anticipating change and new responsibilities — hence reception to the idea of union representation.
In early July, when the union felt it had obtained majority support, Takano said ILWU filed a petition with the board to run a certification election at the hotel, or a vote to unionize.
“At the time we filed, Local 5 was not on the scene,” he said.
Local 5 organizer Daniel Kerwin said the union joined the race because of its experience dealing with Starwood.
“We … believe that with our 57 Starwood hotels we have the leverage it takes to get great contracts,” Kerwin said.
Local 5 Secretary-Treasurer Eric Gill, who is more directly involved with the Princeville talks, did not return calls for comment.
Since being added to the ballot, Local 5 has twice requested that the board modify the list of eligible voters.
According to Local 5’s Web site, it first asked that the board include PBX, concierge and casual workers, which were excluded in the original ILWU petition.
The board approved that request; however, the latest intervention on Monday sought to further include working supervisors and accounting workers.
Takano, however, is not convinced that the additions were necessary, saying that “just about everybody in the hotel” was eligible to vote to begin with.
“Our opinion is that the workers should have voted and the majority would have chosen ILWU,” he said.
The Princeville Hotel’s spokeswoman was not available for comment by press time.
The National Labor Relations Board will meet Wednesday in Honolulu with both unions and the employer. A decision on whether to honor Local 5’s request as well as a new date for the election should follow about two weeks later, Cestare said.
• Blake Jones, business writer/assistant editor, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or bjones@kauaipubco.com
