Unite Here Local 5 hotel workers voted Monday to authorize a strike at six Marriott-operated hotels in Honolulu and on Maui.

The union vote covers nearly 3,500 workers at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort and Spa, the Sheraton Waikiki, The Royal Hawaiian, the Moana Surfrider, the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani and the Sheraton Maui Resort and Spa. The measure, which was supported by 95 percent of the workers, is the first in a series of strike votes by Unite Here hotel workers at Marriott properties in Honolulu, Maui, Boston and San Francisco.

Eric Gill, secretary-treasurer of Local 5, said the union has been in negotiations with Marriott since June and members are preparing for a strike if contracts are not settled soon.

“Our proposal is to make one job enough to live in Hawaii. Marriott’s proposal is to get another job,” Gill said.

Julie Gabot, a 60-year-old Sheraton Waikiki housekeeper, said in a statement that she voted yes “because our hotels keep squeezing us to work harder, while we get less. We need to fight for proper staffing and reasonable workloads so we can be healthy when we retire and not broken down.”