Worker started the first of five days of strikes yesterday at one of the largest resorts in Hawaii due to a dispute over what they see as unfair contracts. Picket lines were made up of catering staff and housekeepers at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki.

Around 1,500 members of the Unite Here Local 5 union walked out on their posts at the resort, which boasts 3,600 rooms, at 4:00 yesterday. In a statement, the union said the strike went ahead because of Hilton’s efforts to tie workers down with “cheap recession contracts”.

According to a local newspaper, the hotel responded by posting a notice in the lobby assuring guests that they were bargaining “in good faith” with the disgruntled workforce. The guests were also advised that they would have to do without room service, valet parking and the hotel-run restaurants and to pick up their own extra towels if they needed them.

According to the union spokesman Cade Watanabe, since the workers’ contracts expired on June 30, no agreement about working conditions and wages has been reached. In a vote on September 15, 95 percent of the union members agreed to strike.

There are fears that the current conflict could lead to the cancellation of the annual International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans conference which is due to bring more than 10,000 people to Hawaii between November 14 and 17. The group has apparently threatened to pull out if the pickets and boycotts and not stopped.