AiKea at the Great Malunggay Festival and Parade

2016-04-02 09.50.19-2AiKea attended the 1st annual Great Malunggay Festival and Parade in Waipahu on April 2. We are proud to support this event, which honors our plantation roots and supports future generations.

Sakadas (Filipino plantation workers) arrived in Hawai’i 100 years ago. Hawaii’s plantation economy was built on their struggle and sacrifice. Today, tourism has replaced plantations. Like the sakadas, many hotel workers are of Filipino descent. They continue our fight.

Workers at the Aston Waikiki Beach and Hotel Renew have been fighting for a fair process to decide whether to unionize. We asked people at the event to sign our petition calling on Xenia Hotels & Resorts (the owner of the Aston Waikiki Beach) and Aqua-Aston Hotels & Resorts (the operator of both hotels) to respect their workers.

Workers rights is no joke

2016-04-01 07.19.51 HDR-1We wish this were a joke… but Aston Waikiki Beach and Hotel Renew workers have been fighting for over a year for a fair process to decide whether to unionize, and management refuses. We will never stop fighting in solidarity with them until they get the respect they deserve! View more photos on our Facebook page.

Apply for our Organizing Beyond Barriers summer internship

2015-06-27 15.53.30Apply for the Organizing Beyond Barriers summer internship, a nationally coordinated program by UNITE HERE! The OBB program strives to link up the workers’ rights movement with the student movement, the LGBTQ movement, the immigrants’ rights movement and all other movements that struggle and work for social justice.

AiKea’s OBB program will run for 8 weeks from June 27 to August 19. Applications are due April 29.

For more information or to apply, visit the UNITE HERE website.

AiKea high school organizers meet with state legislators

12670383_926443394136997_5199056226553505869_nAiKea student organizers from Mililani High and Waipahu High are meeting with state legislators about getting AC in our schools. They met with Rep. Roy Takumi and Rep. Takashi Ohno (pictured here), who chair and vice-chair the House’s Education Committee, respectively. They’re learning how to organize their classmates and demand more from our politicians!

Our very first International Women’s Day event

2016-03-08 18.03.44 HDROur very first International Women’s Day event was a huge success! Around 200 people attended; it was a diverse group of working people, high school students, college students.

We heard great stories about the challenges women have overcome. UH Manoa Professor Monisha Das Gupta spoke about the connections between women’s issues, labor, and immigration. Dolores Reyes, a retired Hilton Hawaiian Village housekeeper, talked about stepping up back in 2006 to lead the housekeepers in a fight to clean 15 rooms instead of 16. Aston Waikiki Beach housekeeper Lydia Macadangdang and Hotel Renew housekeeper MJ Padaca shared their struggle to fight for a fair process to decide whether to unionize at their respective hotels. They detailed their unsafe working conditions and what it is like to clean 18 rooms a shift. Lastly, Local 5 organizer Gemma Weinstein spoke about her hopes for the future and why she fights for union and non-union workers alike.

We took took action on a current issue facing women today by rallying in solidarity with the Aston Waikiki Beach and Hotel Renew workers who are fighting for a safer and better workplace. We gathered across the street from the Aston Waikiki Beach and sang “We Shall Overcome” and “We Shall Not Be Moved.” We hope this is the first of many International Women’s Day celebrations in Hawai’i!

Hotel Renew housekeeper talks to students about the #AstonLife

2016-02-25 09.48.51-1Hotel Renew housekeeper MJ Padaca spoke to Leeward Community College students about her and her coworkers’ fight for a fair process to decide whether to unionize and the harassment and intimidation they’ve faced from management. No one deserves this kind of disrespect on the job. Students were very supportive and felt that Aqua-Aston Hospitality, as Hawaii’s #1 largest hotel operator, should treat its workers right. They wanted to learn more about what they could do to help.

AiKea UH at the Student Power Rally

2016-02-24 15.19.52-1AiKea UH attended the Student Power Rally organized by FACE and the Hawaii Coalition for Immigrant Rights. College students and community supporters sign waved and rallied in support of bills that would make community college free and provide student debt assistance for law students.

Update on HB1850

2016-02-23 16.42.07HB1850 was passed with amendments by the House  Finance Committee. 8 representatives passed it with reservations. 84 testifiers OPPOSED the bill vs. 36 supporters who mostly used a form letter. Once again, our politicians aren’t listening to us.

You can view our Twitter feed to see live tweets on the hearing.

We will keep you updated on the next steps of this bill (and its companion bill SB2693 SD1) and what you can do to make sure that corporations like Airbnb #ShareBetter. Follow us on Facebook or sign up for our email list.

Morning Rally at the Aston Waikiki Beach and Hotel Renew

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Cecile Daniels, a breakfast attendant at Hotel Renew, is one of many workers fighting for a fair process to decide whether to unionize.

It was a beautiful morning for another rally at the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel and Hotel Renew! Thanks to everyone who stood with these hotel workers, including healthcare workers from Hale Nani Rehabilitation & Nursing Center. Solidarity! You can view more photos on our Facebook page. ‪

AiKea UH organizers meet with UHM Associate Director of Student Housing Services

12728910_576128199212471_3993517504566557277_nGreat work, AiKea at UH organizers! They had a good meeting with one of the Associate Directors for Student Housing Services about their campaign for better student housing. Learn more about their campaign.