CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Yesterday's protest at Pacific Beach Hotel drew Rep. Roy Takumi, front, and other legislators. They spoke about the labor situation at the Waikiki hotel. Behind Takumi are giant puppets portraying real workers who could not protest because they were afraid for their jobs.

Legislators join hotel protest

A group of state legislators joined picketers at the Pacific Beach Hotel in Waikiki yesterday to speak out on behalf of workers and to protest what they consider labor violations by the hotel owner HTH Corp.

"We are here to share with the people of this nation and of the world that Hawaii is a place that will treat its workers fairly," said Rep. Della Belatti (D- Makiki, Tantalus, and portions of McCully and Papakolea). "We will not go away. We will continue to be witness to this injustice until justice is realized."

HTH, the longtime owner of the Pacific Beach Hotel and the Pagoda Hotel and Restaurant, took over management of the Waikiki property in December, laying off 32 workers in the process. HTH subsequently said it believed that Local 142's National Labor Relations Board certification had expired and refused to negotiate with the union.

The union and members of the Justice at the Beach, a coalition of community groups and lawmakers, later called for a consumer boycott against HTH.

The sides have filed numerous NLRB charges against each other, including one last week in which the union alleged the company was trying to solicit workers to sign a decertification petition.

Other state lawmakers who joined Belatti in supporting the boycott included Representatives Tom Brower, Rida Cabanilla, Kirk Caldwell, Mele Carroll, Jon Riki Karamatsu, Marilyn Lee, Angus McKelvey, Hermina Morita, Scott Nishimoto, Marcus Oshiro, Faye Hanohano, Joe Souki, Dwight Takamine, Ryan Yamane and Senators Will Espero, Clayton Hee and Clarence Nishihara.

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Legislators and union workers picketed in front of the Pacific Beach Hotel yesterday.

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Union worker Carmie Labtingao, left, Virginia Recaido, and Arturo Garay held signs at the hotel rally. The giant puppets pictured portray real workers who were too afraid to protest. Recaido and Garay have both lost their jobs. Recaido has since found another hotel job.

"We're here because the employees cannot be. Workers at this hotel have been intimidated into silence, watching over 30 of their fellow employees fired simply because employees want what many other Honolulu hotel workers have-a fair union contract," Takumi said. "No one works harder than Hawaii hotel workers. They deserve to make a decent living. We call on the hotel to respect the law, and to resume negotiations for a fair contract."

Arturo Garay, a former cook who worked at Pacific Beach Hotel for 18 years prior to being laid off in December, said workers fear that they will end up like him -- out of work and unable to find another job.

"If the workers showed up here, I think the company would fire them," Garay said.

HTH declined to comment directly on yesterday's picketing, but did issue a news release with quotes from what it said were "one-on-one conversations" with Pacific Beach Hotel employees, urging an end to the boycott.

Included in the release was Lee Kringel, a housekeeper at Pacific Beach Hotel, who has worked there 29 years. "If the boycott is too strong, then we don't have jobs," Kringel said in the statement.

The statement also quoted Douglas Kometani, a Pacific Beach Hotel uniform services employee, as questioning the boycott.

"My opinion, it is not good for Pacific Beach, it is not good for Hawaii in general, it is hurting the whole industry. I'm here to ask people, please stop this."