Good news! Honolulu City Council passed Res. 17-52 CD1, which will increase the enforcement of illegal vacation rentals and protect our affordable housing.

But our work continues. Res. 17-52 CD1 will now move forward to the Planning Commission. We must make sure that enforcement of illegal vacation rentals is prioritized first before opening up permits for more vacation rentals. Thanks to Council Chair Ron Menor and Councilmember Joey Manahan for authoring the resolution.

Thank you to everyone who testified in support of Res. 17-52 CD1. Stay tuned for updates on this important issue.

14322435_675473072611316_5629904726651844145_nAikea at UH is continuing to organize for better student housing! They want to see changes in the student housing contract that will ensure safe, healthy living conditions for students.

2016-09-12 13.13.08At our last rally with the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel and Hotel Renew workers, we were joined by three pastors from the United Church of Christ and a representative from the pilots union. Mahalo for standing in solidarity with workers who are fighting for respect on the job!

14212637_1090453467704828_7825847930067918185_nWe kicked off our Labor Day weekend with a talent show. Participants performed their talent and shared why Labor Day is important to them. Then our summer interns performed a play based on the stories of UNITE HERE Local 5 workers. Mahalo to everyone who joined us!

View more photos on our Facebook page.

14022284_10205364592473107_2300613179031706534_nWe held an AiKea Youth Celebration to honor the youth who participated in our Organizing Beyond Barriers internship and AiKea Youth Academy. They spent their summer building a working people’s movement and organizing their communities. Mahalo to the students from Pearl City, Waipahu, and Farrington High and Aikea at UH who came to celebrate!

2016-08-19 13.57.42Our Aikea at UH Student Housing Action was a hit! We passed out leaflets to students moving into the dorms at UH Manoa, informing them about the terrible student housing conditions and our plan to change the housing contract. We also caught plenty of Pokemon.

View more photos on our Facebook page.

2016-08-05 10.22.08We had a productive and fun AiKea meeting, discussing our next steps in our affordable housing campaign and our youth organizing program.

We also celebrated the veto of HB1850, Airbnb’s bad bill. Mahalo to everyone who testified against HB1850 and contacted the Governor. This is everyone’s victory!

IMG_2515Students from Farrington High, Waipahu High, Pearl City High, and UH Manoa floated in front of the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel to call on Aston and Hotel Renew to treat workers fairly. Workers at these hotels have been fighting for a fair process to decide whether to unionize since February 2015.

View more photos on our Facebook page.

2016-07-13 13.18.26Our OBB (Organizing Beyond Barriers) interns are spending their summer at Unite Here! Local 5 learning how to organize. They’re currently working on a play that will highlight workers and their families’ stories.

Tomorrow (July 27), they are holding a “Floatopia for Fairness” action from 5:00p – 6:30p at Waikiki Beach Walls to support the Aston workers and their fight for a fair process to decide whether to unionize.

ES496_FilmingSocialChangeUH Manoa students! ES 496: Filming Social Change is being offered this Fall. 3 credits, Wednesdays 1:30p – 4:00p. This course is once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn from Emmy Award-winning writer and director, Ty Sanga, how to use digital media to make short videos with compelling visuals and narrative structures to promote social issues.