Hotel union agreement reached

After months of negotiations, UNITE HERE! Local 5 and Dynasty Hotels of Hawaii, a subsidiary of China Airlines, have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract for workers at the Holiday Inn-Waikiki Hotel.

The new agreement, announced yesterday, achieves wages, benefits and working conditions for workers that are on par with other Local 5 hotel properties such as the Ala Moana and Waikiki Resort hotels. The contract, which is still subject to member ratification, also unites UNITE HERE Local 5 units on Kauai, Maui and Waikiki under a common expiration date in 2010.

Wage improvements in the contract include a $2.50 hourly wage increase over the duration of the contract for non-tipped employees and a $1.30 hourly raise for tipped employees.

In addition, owners will continue to provide premium-free comprehensive medical coverage for active workers and retirees and they will increase hourly pension contributions by 15 percent. There also will be double-time sick leave pay for tipped employees.

Improvements to working conditions in the new contract include protection for immigrants who are not permanent residents, removal of company rules prohibiting workers from conversing in their native languages, and changes to housekeeping work load standards.