![]() ![]() Tourism is the biggest driver of Hawaii’s economy, accounting for 21 percent of jobs. “Now that local people are getting more agency, they are learning more, going into a more curious space of saying ‘It’s great that this company is providing jobs, but what kind of jobs are they? Are they good jobs? Are they paying a livable wage?” “We’re having to move away from quantity to quality,” said Laurien Baird Hokuli’i Helfrich-Nuss, the founder of Conscious Concepts, a company that works with local organizations on sustainable tourism initiatives. The endeavors that have sparked these recent protests all promise jobs, just as tourism and defense have in the past.īut perhaps for the first time in recent Hawaiian history, natives and locals are saying the quality of these jobs is not good enough. They say that since Europeans first arrived in the 18th century, Hawaiian land has been taken and misused by non-Hawaiians, and often to the detriment of Hawaiians and their traditions. “We are continuing our planned efforts to convert the property into a world-class vacation ownership resort.”Ī common thread between these protests is that they are being led by locals. “We value our dedicated team members at The Modern Honolulu and we were pleased to reach a contract agreement that includes a significant pay increase,” a spokesman for Diamond said. The company said it would turn one of its hotels into a timeshare resort, which requires fewer workers than a traditional hotel. In July, hotel employees went on strike to protest what they said were low wages and the firing of 45 workers by Diamond Resorts, an operator of multiple properties in the United States and Europe. In Honolulu, in May, Hilton employees protested, demanding a better contract and job protections. The developers behind the center say it will bring jobs and create a new community space, but opponents fear it will be a magnet for tourists and will destroy the forest and beach used by locals. In southeast Oahu, in September, 28 people were arrested trying to block the building of a park and recreation center in Waimanalo, a largely agricultural town. ![]()
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