Unionized workers at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa and the four Sheraton hotels in Waikiki yesterday authorized a strike, giving union negotiators leverage in ongoing contract talks.

About 97 percent of Sheraton workers and 96 percent of Hilton workers who voted approved the strike authorization, said Alan Mark, president of Faith Action for Community Equity, who led a community group that counted the votes.

The union, UNITE HERE Local 5, represents about 1,600 Hilton employees and 2,500 workers at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel, the Sheraton Princess Ka'iulani Hotel, the Sheraton Moana Surfrider and the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. Yesterday's vote does not mean there will be a strike, but it gives union negotiators the authority to call for one if contract talks break down. Hotel workers in 2002 authorized a strike, but the union never called for one.

Gary Seibert, area vice president and managing director for Hilton Hawaii, said both sides have made progress in recent bargaining sessions. Hilton and Local 5 are scheduled to meet again tomorrow and Saturday.

Seibert said he's "somewhat disappointed" that the strike authorization vote took place so early, "but we're sitting down and we're talking and we're making progress." Local 5 began negotiations with Sheraton in May and with Hilton in June.

"I fully understand what the different steps are that unions on occasion take," Seibert said. "I don't let that rattle me or upset me. I feel that it's time to continue to talk and get this settled."

David Uchiyama, spokesman for the Sheraton hotels, was also optimistic about the progress of negotiations. He said both sides have reached tentative agreements on many issues and have a few left to resolve, including two major issues regarding workload and an economic package.

"We respect the fact that (the strike vote) is a step in the process that the union needs to go through," he said. "We are focusing on being able to get back to the table with the negotiating teams and resolving those last items. ... The discussions have been very collaborative to this point."

Several hotel workers who voted yesterday at the Neal Blaisdell Center to authorize a strike said they were concerned about issues including staff workloads, health and welfare benefits and job security.

"Waikiki is looking upon its biggest year as far as revenue generation, and I don't think we're asking for that big a piece of it," said Mason Chung, a bartender at the Sheraton Waikiki for 34 years. "We're looking for just a way of maintaining the dignity for the retirees as well as the people working now."

Labor contracts covering more than 5,500 employees at eight Waikiki hotels expired June 30, but negotiations have continued. Contracts for employees at the Ala Moana Hotel and the Kahala Hotel & Resort will expire at the end of the month.

Local 5 officials declined to disclose the number of ballots cast yesterday.

Chris Sallas, Hilton doorman for 23 years, said the vote is sending a message "to get to the bargaining table and get things done."

"Nobody likes to strike, but you gotta do what you gotta do," he said. "Everybody suffers in a strike — the employer and the employees."

UNITE HERE was created by the merger of two unions, the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees and the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees.

Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com.