Kona Beach employees
to picket over 10% pay cutSome 52 workers were laid off from
the Big Isle property this spring
KAILUA-KONA >> Employees at King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel plan to picket today after receiving a 10 percent cut in their paychecks Tuesday, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union announced.
The action follows layoffs in March and April of 52 employees, representing a quarter of the hotel's workforce, the union said.
The employees had been working without a contract since July 2002, union international representative Tracy Takano said. In April, the hotel declared an impasse in negotiations, a declaration, which must normally be agreed to by both sides, Takano said.
The ILWU filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, but there is no date set for hearing the complaint, he said.
Hotel manager Mark McGuffie said he couldn't comment on the labor dispute. The hotel is owned by a subsidiary of Honolulu-based HTH Corp., the union said.
"The hotel is having financial difficulties and workers at the hotel understand that," Takano said. But initially, the hotel asked for a 25 percent pay cut, he said. "Nobody can take that."
The company more recently sought a 10 percent pay cut and told the union that the two sides weren't far apart, Takano said.
With the 52 layoffs in the spring, the union expected that the financial picture of the company would improve. Employees believed, "We must be closer," he said. Instead, the company cut their pay.
In addition, the company has asked workers to increase their medical payments in amounts ranging from $40 to $202 per month. It also wants to reduce pension contributions to 2 cents per hour, cut holiday pay and end long-term disability insurance.