Attack of the Turtle Bay Protesters!

The strikers were out in force at Turtle Bay over the weekend. It is my sad duty to report to you that they obstructed traffic and delayed our weekly game of volleyball by a whopping five minutes.

Some pictures:

Controversy and Turtle Bay have been good companions over the years.

Last fall, 400 strikers marched around the volleyball court. We were the only people there. No guests or workers, just us and a few cops monitoring the situation. Believe me when I say that it’s a weird sensation being encircled on the beach by a horde of angry people shouting slogans into loudspeakers and waving banners.

(Like we gave a damn about anything they had to say. We’re college students for crying out loud. Protests are so 1960’s.)

Much to many people’s dismay, the exploits of the unions and their policies have had a big impact on everyone in Oahu.In the first three months I arrived on the island The Bus drivers went on strike for more money and better benefits. For those who don’t have access to a car or other means of transportation on Oahu, you take The Bus and pay out two bucks when you ride. There are no other alternatives.

Within that three month time frame, the bus driver’s union achieved everything they wanted. Experienced drivers now make $60,000 a year, plus full benefits, 2 weeks of paid vacation a year and only have to work 5 days a week for 7 hours each day. Drivers don’t need a college degree, a GED or even a high school diploma; only a class-2 drivers license to pull in that kind of big bucks.

The reason I mention this is not because these people make more than both teachers and police officers, even though it is an interesting fact. I don’t mention this because they perform a service that’s consistently late, unreliable and slow (despite somehow being voted America’s #1 public transportation system). Certainly I don’t bring this up because The Bus hasn’t ever turned a profit in their history and that they survive only thanks to the tax dollars of the people of Hawaii (its subsidized by the County and City of Honolulu).

The real reason I say all of this is because it represents the mindset of some Hawaiians and their belief they are entitled to more when their efforts and circumstances don’t justify it.

Turtle Bay is another classical example.

The union strikers (aka “those greedy bastards”) want the same wages and benefits their counterparts in Waikiki get. They cannot accept the fact that while Waikiki hotels have on average an 85-95% occupancy rate, Turtle Bay is lucky to have 40% of its rooms filled.

Turtle Bay has been sold more times than you can shake a stick at over the last 10 years and they never turn consistent profits!

It’s not about “fairness” as many protesters claim. People in Waikiki make a different wage because the other side of the island is a different economy.

Think about it — why then should workers abuse the union system and demand more money and benefits from a company that can only be described as a failure? Or look at it this way, its like McDonald’s workers wanting their minimum wage to be the same as people who work at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse.

It makes no sense!

As reported in the North Shore News in a couple issues back, a growing number of union workers are fed up with their union representatives and want the whole ordeal to be over with. They’ve let the genie out of the bottle and now they’ve got to find a way to force it back in there.

As if that’s going to happen anytime this century.

Greed + Entitlement is a powerfully intoxicating combination in the islands.

May 15th, 2005 in Current Events, Journal, Photography |