Re: 2011 Conference
From: Craig Ragland (craigraglandgmail.com)
Date: Fri, 25 Mar 2011 13:29:45 -0700 (PDT)
Hi Bruce,

Below...

On Fri, Mar 25, 2011 at 10:38 AM, Bruce Koloseike
<koloseik [at] bellsouth.net> wrote:
> Craig.
>
> Thanks for your visit to Westwood this last winter/spring.   It certainly
> prompted my wife and me to attend the Co-ho conference this June.

Westwood (Asheville, NC) is a lovely community - interesting
architecture, beautiful land, and great people. Its great to hear that
we'll see you at the conference.

> Concerning the boycott issue, would it be advisable to have a representative
> from the union host a session at the conference to give the opportunity for
> all of us to hear more about their stance and how we can best avoid the
> issue in the future?

In the letter that Lisa and I wrote, we said, "We offered to create
opportunities to educate conference attendees about the labor dispute
– and raise awareness in general about labor issues linked to the
hotel and service industries."

Your suggestion is a good one and I'll take it to the conference team.
Regardless of whether the union chooses to participate in a conference
session, the Coho/US volunteer/staff team has already learned a lot
more about labor issues. One of the cohousing residents who received
our letter has a history with labor organizing. She has offered to
help the 2012 Conference team better understand the issues as we book
the hotel for the San Francisco Bay area conference (June 14-18,
2012).

One challenge is that its so difficult to know what the labor
situation may be like over a year in advance of the actual event when
we have to enter into the contract with the hotel.

Likely the hotel itself might not be willing to do a
> similar thing, but they might also be asked  --- or even have some sort of
> joint session.
>
> Bruce K
>

I'm still hoping for the hotel and the union to get this settled
before the conference.

In community, Craig

>
> On Mar 25, 2011, at 1:28 PM, Craig Ragland wrote:
>
>>
>> Lisa Poley, the 2011 Conference Chair, and I emailed a note on this
>> unfortunate situation to Coho-L on Wednesday. Here's a link to the
>> archival version of that note:
>>
>> http://lists.cohousing.org/archives/cohousing-l/msg32731.html
>>
>> We also posted a PDF about it on the Conference website:
>>
>> http://conference.cohousing.org/docs/2011/2011_hotel_labor_issue.pdf
>>
>> As some of you know, this year's conference is the first time that
>> we're using a hotel and we have a lot to learn about venue selection.
>> The 2012 Conference Chair (Katie McCamant) and I have made labor
>> issues a criteria in selecting the venue for that conference - and we
>> have already rejected one hotel because they are on the boycott list
>> published by this union.
>>
>> The association thanks you for your support.
>>
>> Craig Ragland
>> Coho/US Exec Dir
>>
>> Note: In July, 2011 my replacement will be taking over as the
>> association's next Exec. Dir. To learn more about this job
>> opportunity, click here:
>>
>> http://www.cohousing.org/node/3926
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Mar 24, 2011 at 11:59 AM, Micah Ehler <mehler [at] unitehere.org>
>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Dear Cohousing Community Member,
>>>
>>> It has come to our attention that the Cohousing
>>> Association of the United States has scheduled its 2011
>>> National Cohousing Conference (June 15-19) at the Sheraton
>>> Crystal City Hotel in Arlington, VA. You may be concerned
>>> to hear that workers at this hotel (which is owned and
>>> operated by the HEI Hotels & Resorts) are engaged in a
>>> serious labor dispute; these workers called for a boycott
>>> of their hotel in March 2010 after enduring more than a
>>> year of anti-union intimidation.  Picket lines and other
>>> union activities occur regularly in conjunction with the
>>> consumer boycott.
>>>
>>> As a union of hospitality workers throughout the U.S. and
>>> Canada, we take great pride in our commitment to building
>>> a community of union members and their families. Across
>>> our two countries, UNITE HERE members have fought for and
>>> won innovative improvements that reflect this commitment
>>> by pooling our resources to provide health and welfare
>>> funds which include benefits for domestic partners and
>>> their dependants, child & elder care programs, and
>>> pensions that ensure a dignified retirement after a career
>>> of service.  Additionally, our members have fought for and
>>> won improvements in workplace health and safety standards,
>>> particularly for room attendants who suffer from an
>>> alarmingly high injury rate.  In a survey of more than 600
>>> hotel housekeepers in the U.S. and Canada, 91% said that
>>> they have suffered work-related pain. 77% said their
>>> workplace pain interfered with routine activities.
>>>
>>> UNITE HERE members have also been tackling the issue of
>>> affordable, quality housing.  Many hotel workers either
>>> struggle to or are simply unable to afford housing close
>>> to the luxury hotels where they work.  In particular, our
>>> local union in Toronto, Canada has made great strides on
>>> this issue.  Working in partnership with city council, the
>>> Co-operative Housing Federation of Toronto, and the
>>> Toronto Community Housing Corporation, the 60 Richmond
>>> Co-op was completed in March 2010.  This LEED Gold
>>> Certified, 85-unit building includes a community garden
>>> and shared courtyard space for hotel workers and their
>>> families.
>>>
>>> However, Sheraton Crystal City Hotel employees do not
>>> currently enjoy these or any benefits of having a union.
>>>  In fact, HEI’s refusal to provide a fair process for
>>> employees to decide whether to form a union lies at the
>>> heart of the labor dispute and boycott at the hotel.
>>>  Several other hotels in the Arlington, VA/Washington D.C.
>>> area (including the Double Tree Crystal City, Capitol
>>> Hilton, Embassy Suites Crystal City, and the Sheraton
>>> Premiere at Tyson's Corner) have historically agreed to
>>> such a process – they have remained neutral and recognized
>>> unions once presented with authorization cards signed by a
>>> majority of employees.  The Sheraton Crystal City has
>>> chosen instead to do just the opposite – workers have been
>>> subjected to an aggressive anti-union campaign which
>>> ultimately led them to the decision to begin a boycott (in
>>> March 2010).
>>>
>>> Too often, otherwise well-planned events end in
>>> disappointment because organizations are poorly informed
>>> about the nature of a labor dispute or expect a speedy
>>> resolution. But by changing the location of the June 2011
>>> conference to another venue, the Cohousing Association of
>>> the United States can take a stand to strengthen our
>>> communities.  Moreover, your important work deserves
>>> better than to be placed in the midst of a labor dispute.
>>>  As one of the Sheraton Crystal City Hotel’s valued
>>> customers, you have an influential voice.
>>>
>>> Given our shared vision and the Cohousing Association’s
>>> commitment to “improve the world, one neighborhood at a
>>> time”, we hope that you will choose to relocate your June
>>> 2011 conference to a venue which is free of labor
>>> disputes.  For a complete list of labor disputes and union
>>> hotels in the Arlington/Washington D.C. area and
>>> throughout North America, please visit
>>> www.unionhotelguide.org.  Also, please contact me with any
>>> questions, concerns, or to learn more about how to best
>>> protect your event.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> In Solidarity,
>>> Micah Ehler
>>> Unite HERE!
>>> Boycott Coordinator
>>> 614-746-1145
>>> mehler [at] unitehere.org
>>> _________________________________________________________________
>>> Cohousing-L mailing list -- Unsubscribe, archives and other info at:
>>> http://www.cohousing.org/cohousing-L/
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> _________________________________________________________________
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>>
>>
>
>

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