Royal Kona Resort workers to rally for fair contract following 16 months of unsuccessful negotiations

Some 150 hotel workers of Royal Kona Resort in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island will rally and sign-wave later today, July 18, calling on the resort to finally — after holding out for 16 months — negotiate for a fair contract with the union representing its staff.

The workers include housekeepers, maintenance workers, bellmen, cooks and others represented by UNITE HERE Local 5 — the Hawai‘i healthcare and hospitality affiliate of international union UNITE HERE. They will rally from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. outside the resort, located at 75-5852 Ali‘i Drive.

Members of the Local 5 Executive Board will join them.

Local 5 members of the Royal Kona Resort staff have worked without a contract since February 2025. They are asking their employer to negotiate with them for a contract that respects their work and wages while keeping up with the rising cost of living.

Royal Kona workers already walked out in December 2025 for a 1-day strike because of the stalemate in negotiations.

Local 5 also filed an unfair labor practice with the National Labor Relations Board against Royal Kona Resort for declaring impasse in the middle of collective bargaining talks and implementing changes to working conditions before the union and employer had even bargained.

The federal government ruled in March that when the hotel changed working conditions without bargaining with the union, it violated federal labor law.

Royal Kona had to post a notice pledging to bargain in good faith and committing that it would not violate workers’ rights.

“We have been fighting for a fair contract for months — even going on strike — but our employer is treating us like we are second-class,” said Royal Kona Resort maintenance worker with 18 years of service Daniel Hauanio in a release. “We do the same work every day as other hotel workers across the Hawai‘i and we deserve respect and a fair contract. If tourism is Hawai‘i’s No. 1 industry, then we need to make sure tourism provides good jobs for local people today and tomorrow.”

Royal Kona continues to hold out while 23 other Hawai‘i hotels and their workers — also represented by Local 5 — settled their contracts, securing historic wage increases, job security and first-of-its-kind major industry impact language, beginning in 2024 with Hilton Hawaiian Village in Honolulu.

Local 5 President Gemma Weinstein said while Royal Kona management continues to claim it cares about its workers, the actions — and non-action — taken during these past 16 months show it does not.

“Royal Kona workers work hard to welcome Hawai‘i’’s visitors the best they can, but they are struggling to make ends meet,” Weinstein said in the release. “All other Local 5 hotels have settled fair contracts for their employees, it is only Royal Kona Resort that has fallen short.”