Hawaii’s Changing Economy ‘What About Us?’: Retailers Struggle To Find Their Way Through The Pandemic…The state had 10,000 fewer retail trade jobs at the end of 2020 than it had in 2019.
As throngs of tourists have returned to Hawaii and hotel, restaurant and bar workers were ushered to the front of the line for COVID-19 vaccinations, Tina Yamaki, president of Retail Merchants of Hawaii, heard a common question from some retailers who primarily serve tourists.
“Some of our members were like, ‘What about us?’” Yamaki said.
In the end, even though the state still officially has made hotel, restaurant and bar workers a priority, Yamaki, through her lobbying efforts, managed last week to get access to just one of Oahu’s vaccination centers for retail workers: a site at Leeward Community College.
