Employees at the Hale Koa Hotel in Waikiki will begin voting this week on whether they want to continue to be represented by a union.

Ballots were mailed yesterday to the more than 800 hotel workers, who will have until Sept. 17 to cast their vote. The election is being conducted by the Federal Labor Relations Authority in San Francisco and the results may be announced as early as Sept. 18.

The ballot question reads: "Do the workers want to be represented by UNITE-HERE Local 5 or not." Election notices have been posted at the hotel, but the ballots were mailed to the homes of the employees.

The FLRA authorized the election after it received a petition in January that was signed by more than 30 percent of the hotel's bargaining unit workers.

In April 2006, Hale Koa employees voted to join UNITE-HERE Local 5 after being represented by the federal SEIU /NAGE Local 556. Since then, union and management have clashed over several issues, including complaints over alleged sexual harassment, wrongful termination, free speech rights and union access to the property.

The two sides have had four negotiation sessions, but have not reached a contract agreement. Whether talks continue will depend on the outcome of the election, but even after the results are released, it could take time before they are certified because the election is subject to appeal.

The Hale Koa is owned and operated by the U.S. Army. Hotel management declined to comment, saying this is an issue between the union and employees.

Kim Harman, Local 5 lead organizer at the hotel, said the union is confident that the vote will be in its favor. She said about 60 percent of the employees have signed a petition saying they favored union representation.

"When Local 5 took over as the union at Hale Koa, it was a 'friendly' takeover at the suggestion of the old union," she said.

"The only people who got to vote were the 47 dues-paying members of the old union, so this will be the first time that all of the bargaining unit workers will have a chance to vote."

Harman said the union believes that many of the workers who signed the decertification petition were not clear on what they were signing. She said Local 5 has conducted a campaign to explain what is going on and the union feels it has the votes to continue its representation.

"We're looking forward to the election so we can settle this once and for all," Harman said.

She added that it doesn't make sense to have a decertification vote because Hale Koa is an "open shop," meaning union membership is voluntary. Harman said about 150 workers have signed union dues cards since Local 5 took over.

"At a federal property, no one has to pay dues. It's all optional," she said. "So even if there was a 100 percent vote for the union and no one pays dues, that's still acceptable and the union still by law has to represent people."

Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.