Hawaii
Hawaii hotel strikers seek unemployment benefits with no guarantee of getting those payments
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – While workers at the Hilton Hawaiian Village fight for better wages and a bigger workforce, they are also heading into another fight — for unemployment benefits.
They could be eligible, but maybe not, if they do too much damage to the hotel’s income.
At the picket line at the Kalia Road entrance to the Hilton Hawaiian Village, like his colleagues, 9-year bellman Gerritt Vincent filed for unemployment but may not know for years if he will get paid.
“They told us we shouldn’t really expect much, but just to apply because you know, we’re worth it,” Vincent said.
Vincent says with no money coming in, unemployment payments would be helpful.
“I told my kids, ‘We’re sorry. We’re not going to go to McDonald’s. I told my wife, ‘Sorry, we can’t go to Target for next few days, we’re going to have to eat what we have at the house,’” he said.
Cade Watanabe, UNITE Local 5 financial secretary-treasurer, said, “We’re telling all of our members not to depend on it, not to expect it.”
That’s because it depends on how much the strike impacts Hilton’s bottom line.
Under Hawaii law and court rulings, if a strike has little or no impact on operations, workers are eligible for unemployment benefits. If the company loses 20 to 30% or more of its revenue, the workers are not eligible.
Even experts, like state House Labor Committee Chair Scot Matayoshi, can find it confusing.
“It’s honestly kind of counterintuitive to me, too,” he said.
It seems backward because strikes are designed to damage and even shut down the employer, but if the union succeeds in that, they don’t get unemployment.
Matayoshi says the law seems structured as a compromise, supporting striking workers without disabling their employers.
“If the strike is to such an extent that the whole business gets shut down, especially a crucial business, like a hospital, then unemployment benefits are withheld as perhaps incentive not to do that,” he said.
But it also creates another conflict between owners and workers. Employers will fight the unemployment applications, by offering the state Labor Department proof of business disruption severe enough for the state to deny the benefits,
“That’s something that will take a lot of time, ” Watanabe said. “That also will require the employer to share their financials.”
Financials the union will challenge on behalf of its workers, in disputes that can go on for years.
And every dispute is unique.
For example, nurses who were locked out from Kapiolani Hospital, didn’t leave voluntarily and the hospital still operated. But the Labor Department says the nurses’ eligibility is still under review.
While the law confusion seems to require change to the law, even with all the power labor has in the state, unions fear that by opening up the labor laws at the legislature could lead to unexpected negative consequences.
Copyright 2024 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
Gov. Josh Green today issued a statement regarding a federal lawsuit challenging the eligibility requirements within the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act.
“The Hawaiian Homes Commission Act was established to address the historic dispossession of Native Hawaiians and reflects a longstanding commitment to them by both the federal government and the state of Hawaiʻi,” said Green.
“This lawsuit threatens that commitment. I have directed the Department of the Attorney General to vigorously defend the Hawaiian Homes program. We will fight this lawsuit with everything we have,” he said.
The lawsuit was filed by Eric Ryan, an Oʻahu resident who is not Native Hawaiian and tried to apply for a lease, but was denied due to the 50% Native Hawaiian blood quantum requirement, according to Hawaiʻi News Now and court documents published at Courthouse News Service.
The Class Action Complaint argues that the “explicitly ancestry-based requirement” establishes a “permanent government mandate for state officials to engage in outright racial discrimination, perpetuates stereotypes, and limits housing opportunities for most Hawai‘i residents. The blood-quantum requirement thus violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution,” the complaint alleges.
Green said the administration “stands firmly with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands and the thousands of Native Hawaiian beneficiaries who rely on this program and its promise for future generations.”
Attorney General Anne Lopez also issued a statement saying the state of Hawaiʻi has both a legal and moral obligation to uphold the commitments embodied in the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act.
“This lawsuit seeks to dismantle a program that has provided opportunities, stability and hope to generations of Native Hawaiian beneficiaries,” said Lopez.
Solicitor General Kalikoʻonālani Fernandes, who has extensive experience handling complex constitutional litigation on behalf of the state, will lead the legal team in defending the state against the challenge.
“We are prepared to vigorously defend the Hawaiian Homes program and the promises it represents,” said Lopez.
Under the Green administration, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands has accelerated the delivery of homestead opportunities and expanded pathways to homeownership for Native Hawaiian beneficiaries.
In 2025 alone, DHHL offered more than 2,500 lease awards and continues to advance major housing projects, including Hale Mōʻiliʻili on Oʻahu, which will provide 278 affordable rental units for beneficiaries.
“These efforts reflect the administration’s commitment to reducing wait times, strengthening Native Hawaiian communities and fulfilling the promise of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act,” according to the governor’s announcement.
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Concrete fell from the exterior of an Ala Moana Center parking structure Monday afternoon near the Kapiolani Boulevard exit, damaging a vehicle.
No injuries were reported.
Security blocked an exit lane as debris scattered across the roadway. Ala Moana Center said they are grateful no one was hurt, and the lane will remain closed while structural engineers and construction professionals assess the damage and make repairs.
Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
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