Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: 2011 Conference

[Craig Ragland (craigragland]

Oops... I got the dates for the 2012 Conference in the San Francisco
Bay area wrong. The correct dates will be:

Wed, June 13, 2012 through Sun, June 17, 2012.

Katie McCamant, the conference chair, and I are currently considering
possible venues.

Craig

On Fri, Mar 25, 2011 at 1:29 PM, Craig Ragland <craigragland [at] gmail.com> 
wrote:
> 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
>>>> _________________________________________________________________
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>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>
>>
>>
>