Presented by Jun Shin
On behalf of the Hawai’i Workers Center, I strongly urge the Legislature to pass SB 588
(HB 642) and afford Hawai’i’s hotel workers a safe workplace and a fair process for
returning to work based on their length of service in the hotel. It makes sense that
those who have worked a greater number of years at a hotel should be reemployed
first.
The Bill’s provisions are reasonable and not overly difficult or costly for hotel
management to comply with. In fact, it is disappointing and hard to understand why
hotel ownership and management have opposed this reasonable measure. It is the
hotel workers who sustain the tourist industry and render crucial services to make the
industry and our local economy viable.
It is vital to ensure that thorough daily hotel room-cleaning and sanitation occurs so that
hotel workers have safe and healthy workplaces. Cities across the country have
adopted similar measures to protect their workers in tourism. What a shame it would
be if Honolulu is one of the few cities that does not prioritize its workers’ health and
safety. Are hotel profits more important? The additional cost to hotel operators is
minimal and yet they are resisting these reasonable worker protections and call-back
provisions.
It is time to support our working people who have borne the brunt of lay-offs, furloughs,
and diminished incomes. Passing this bill will give the hotel workers a greater measure
of security for themselves and their families, and will honor and safeguard the
significant and essential contributions of our hotel workers in this time of the Covid
pandemic.