Updated at 11:40 a.m., Monday, May 7, 2001

Hotel worker deal averts strike in time for ADB meeting

• Hotel union deal puts end to concern over serving ADB guests

By Karen Blakeman and Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writers

With a work stoppage already in its early stages, negotiators for the hotel workers' union and six major Waikiki hotels reached a tentative agreement at 3:45 a.m. today.

Many workers got word in time to go to work.

"In most cases almost everyone showed up," said Keith Vieira, senior vice president of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, which operates four hotels that would have been affected.

Neither side would give details of the contract. But union officials said the issue of subcontracting work to nonunion employees had been addressed to their satisfaction.

"There is not going to be any more subcontracting for the life of this agreement," said Tony Rutledge, on the negotiating team of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Local 5. Salaries were addressed, and Eric Gill, also on the negotiating team, said he thought members would be satisfied.

Paul Tang, general manager of the Hyatt Regency Waikiki, said most of his 700 affected employees reported to work.

The union had called a work stoppage to begin at midnight.

At a meeting this morning at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall, union members were briefed on the contract, with ratification votes to be held later.

The deal covers 5,000 workers at the Royal Hawaiian, Sheraton Waikiki, Sheraton Moana Surfrider, Sheraton Princess Ka'iulani, Hyatt Regency and Hilton Hawaiian Village.