Japanese union backs Pacific Beach boycott

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2008/04/21/daily36.html

Wednesday, April 23, 2008 - 11:57 AM HAST

Pacific Business News (Honolulu)

A Japanese trade union is joining a boycott of Honolulu-based HTH Corp. and its hotels, the Pacific Beach Hotel and the Pagoda Hotel.

Union leaders of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, known as RENGO, said they would endorse the boycott of Pacific Beach Hotel, but are careful not to discourage members from visiting Hawaii altogether.

With 6.8 million members, RENGO is the largest national trade union organization in Japan.

Two months ago, the largest labor federation in the U.S., the AFL-CIO, called for a boycott of the hotels as a result of long and contentious contract negotiations between HTH Corp. and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 142.

In Hawaii, local labor unions and community groups including the ILWU and Justice on the Beach have long been lobbying against the hotel saying it is among the worst employers in the state with a penchant for treating workers unfairly.

HTH Corp. officials have stood firm and said the company was no longer recognizing or negotiating with the union as a result of its tactics.

FULL story at link.