Portside

The concerns of hotel workers come at a time when jobs once reserved for people are increasingly being replaced by machines and mobile phone apps. It’s no longer just factory workers being replaced by robots — or even cashiers and clerks.

Gov. David Ige and Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell told striking hotel workers Monday during a meeting at the state Capitol that they would not cross the picket line and have urged their hotel managers and owners to resume bargaining.

The hotel strike on Oahu could put a damper on events coming to Hawaii this week. The American Dental Association’s meeting is bringing some 16,200 attendees. Many of whom will be staying at hotels on strike.

Unions representing sheet metal workers, flight attendants and public service employees took steps Tuesday to support the 2,700 Marriott hotel workers in Hawaii who were on their second day of a strike for higher wages and better benefits.