Zenkowan, the All Japan Dockworkers Union, has voted to support the boycott of HTH Corporation’s Pacific Beach and Pagoda Hotel, because of the company’s unlawful opposition to their employees’ right to organize into the ILWU and negotiate a union contract

The International Department of the AFL-CIO has also contacted RENGO, the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, to inform their member unions about the boycott. Some 52 Japanese unions, with a combined membership of 6.75 million members, are affiliated with RENGO.

ILWU supporters in Tokyo have met with the national officers of other Japanese unions, including Service Tourism Rengo, which represents 46,000 hotel workers and travel bureau workers. Service Tourism Rengo represents most of the workers at the Japan Travel Bureau (JTB), Kinki Nippon Tourist, Toptour Corporation, and Nippon Travel Agency (NTA) in Japan.

These meetings are timed to inform Japanese union members and the Japanese public about the boycott before they make travel plans for Golden Week, one of the three busiest travel seasons in Japan.

Golden Week consists of four national holidays which are celebrated between April 29 and May 5. This allows many workers to take 7 days off from work to travel outside of Japan. Golden Week starts with Showa Day (the birthday of Emperor Showa), Constitution Day (Kenpo kinenbi), Greenery Day which is dedicated to the environment and nature (Midori no hi), and ends with Children’s Day (Kodomo no hi) to celebrate Boy’s Day

Over 1,200 Japanese travel agents have also been advised of the boycott.

Foodland members picket in front of the Pacific Beach Hotel in Waikiki. The hotel owner, HTH Corporation, fired dozens of the strongest union supporters among the workers and refused to recognize the ILWU as the worker’s union. The ILWU has called for a boycott of the company and has charged the hotel with numerous unfair labor practice violations