Fri 22 Oct 2004
Well, according to an e-mail I just got from the AAA, the annual meeting that was scheduled for Nov. 17-21 at the San Francisco Hilton has been moved to the Atlanta Hilton on Dec. 15th-19th owing to the labor lockout that’s going on in SF right now. On the one hand, I respect anthropologists (especially) not wanting to cross picket lines, but at the same time, this pretty well ruins the meeting, I think. I certainly can’t go - not only because it’s in Atlanta but because it’s at a terrible time of year for school and travel.
The e-mail is worth a read. It’s an interesting insight into the (academic) anthropological community:
In a teleconference held on October 21, 2004, the AAA Executive Board voted to move the 2004 Annual Meeting from the San Francisco Hilton on November 17-21 to the Atlanta Hilton, December 15-19, 2004, a change in both venue and date.
Many of you are already aware that the San Francisco Hilton Hotel and thirteen other hotels in San Francisco are in a labor contract standoff with Local 2 of UNITE/HERE, the union representing cooks, dishwashers, bellmen, servers, room cleaners and switchboard operators. Union members struck the hotels several weeks ago and were subsequently locked out. Picket lines are posted at the entrances to the Hilton, and it appears likely that contract negotiations between the union and the multi-employer group representing the 14 hotels will not be settled by November 17, the time originally scheduled for the AAA’s Annual Meeting.
Two factors weighed heavily in the Board’s subsequent decision. The first factor was the wishes of the AAA membership. Fifty-six percent of those responding to the poll favored moving the meeting to San Jose or canceling the meeting entirely as their first choice. Only 44% favored holding the meeting in the San Francisco Hilton as a first choice. Moreover, a great many respondents, including some who voted to keep the convention at the Hilton, indicated that they would find it impossible to cross picket lines and that they hoped that the AAA would not meet in a hotel that was locking out unionized employees.
The second factor was the financial position of the AAA. While we could not be sure that the San Francisco Hilton would recover the full amount, breaking the contract with the San Francisco Hilton would expose the Association to potential damages in excess of $1.2 million plus legal fees. Losses of that magnitude would have meant a reduction in program and services for AAA members, and/or the need for a special assessment or voluntary contributions from AAA members…
The sad irony is that the Atlanta Hilton is a non-union hotel. The unionization of the Atlanta Hilton will be a battle for another day. But even the San Jose option would have meant signing a contract with the local Hilton. A committee appointed by the Executive Board last spring is developing a policy to favor living wage municipalities and unionized hotels in choosing future meeting venues. We will also seek a strike cancellation clause in future contracts with meeting hotels.
October 26th, 2004 at 10:07 am
What pisses me off more is that it is still in violation of the union ethics. Moving to a non-unionized hotel makes it better???? I’m horrified. It’s good to know that money still rules. What’s up with the contract that AAA got itself into in the first place? The whole thing seems ridiculous to me.
October 28th, 2004 at 8:00 am
I think you’re exactly right. I was surprised to read that AAA expects between 5000-6000 delegates to the meeting this year. I suppose with those numbers they are limited in the hotels they can deal with, but they certain didn’t have to sign an *8 year* contract with Hilton.
Labor dispute aside, they shouldn’t be keeping people in the lurch. We’re moving, hold on we’re maybe not moving, we’ll tell you on Friday if we’re moving… jeez. If there are still some un-disenfranchised people out there, the AAA is apparently determined to get to them!
January 5th, 2005 at 10:29 pm
[...] like methods, CMC, ICTs, and intervention programs and planning. Especially because of the fiasco regarding last month’s AAA meetings, these SfAA meetings are chock full [...]