As the year draws to a close, as I reflect on the last year, I’m choosing to look at the successes, the good moments, the things that have improved for our musicians, the things that have made our corner of the world a little better. As musicians, we strive to improve, but sometimes, it’s a […]
Unite Here Local 5: Victory for Hotel Workers Union! Over this past Labor Day weekend, thousands of Unite Here! Local 5 hotel workers went on a three-day strike against eight major Hawaii hotels, including the Sheraton Waikiki, Hilton Hawaiian Village, Royal Hawaiian Hotel, Moana Surfrider, Princess Kaiulani, and Waikiki Beach Marriott. Then, on Sept. 24, […]
To fight for fair wages and staffing, on Sept. 24, 1,800 hotel workers went out on strike against the Hilton Hawaiian Village. They include housekeepers, restaurant and banquet workers, maintenance staff, front desk staff, bell personnel, and others, joining 4,000 hotel workers on strike against Hilton, Marriott, and Hyatt hotels in San Diego and San […]
Music Performance Trust Fund 75th Anniversary! The Music Performance Trust Fund’s (MPTF) mission is to enrich lives through music and to contribute to the public knowledge and appreciation of music. To this end, MPTF has, for 75 years, provided grants to pay musicians to provide professional-level, quality musical experiences to public school students, older citizens, […]
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT DeShannon Higa: The last Democratic Jazz Artist Throw any style at trumpeter DeShannon Higa, and he’ll run with it. More than likely, the Hilo native has already led the charge. A union member since 1994, the Honolulu-based Higa has mastered his own style of Democratic jazz, enveloping the traditional with the modern, EDM, […]