Saturday, October 23, 2004

Snatching Victory

UNITE HERE has won an incredible victory, which the AAA has helped them accomplish. The union estimates that the move costs San Francisco over $5 million and pressures elected officials to finally take a stand against the lock-out.

While we have to support this UNITE HERE victory, within the organization we need to press for:
1) Demand that the AAA staff cease all negotiations with hotel chains currently involved in labor diputes until the disputes have ended.
2) Demand that the AAA resolve to refuse any future business to the Hilton Corporation,
3) Demand that the staff insert an opt-out clause in the event of strikes of lockouts in all of our vender contracts.
4) Demand that the staff agressively negotiate with all vendors in a manner consistent with the guiding principles of the AAA. This must include reviewing the contracts in Virginia which preclude the possibility of extending domestic partner benefits.
5) Demand that the AAA immediately purchase cancelation insurance.
6) Demand that the AAA immediately make a substantial donation to support the locked-out workers' support fund.

This takes the pressure off of the board to deal with these issues and allows them to focus on other areas of governance. These issues, which include the manner in which the Executive Committee initiated the survey, the lack of detailed information on the San Jose alternatives that so many members have decried, the utter disregard of the survey results once the tally was taken, and the cross- and missed communication among AAA Sections.

In solidarity,

R

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear Colleagues,

As our membership was not consulted on the move of the AAA meetings to Atlanta, we would like to ask for your support for the following three demands:

Either:
1) cancel the meetings
2) move the meetings to San Jose
3) or we will show up in Atlanta and surround the Hilton, preventing the avoidance of the San Francisco picket line

Will you join a picket at the Atlanta Hilton? A website www.picketaaa.org will be up by Thursday October 28, in which you can register your intent to join the picket in Atlanta if no further action is taken by the AAA.

The AAA and the Hilton organization, including its San Fran and Atlanta chapters, are happily protected under the terms of this exchange, while the workers, whose requests were modest versions of what we ask for ourselves, are locked out.

We ask you to contact us about whether you are willing to join a picket in Atlanta in December in support of the over 4,000 workers who have lost their jobs because they tried to get a cabal of employers to engage in negotiations.

Thank you,

Alan Klima
Marisol de la Cadena
Suzana Sawyer

Department of Anthropology
University of California, Davis

8:36 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home