Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: 2011 Conference

[Muriel Kranowski (murielk]

At 08:59 AM 3/27/2011, Jeannette wrote:
> <snip> For a union to even ask a conference to change venues at the last 
> minute
> shows disregard for the rights (and pocketbooks)  of the conference
> organizers and attendees.
>
> Jeannette Watling-Mills
> Living In Community Network, Sarasota, FL

I'm writing to express my agreement with Jeannette.  What has been 
bothering me about Micah Ehler's (the union's boycott coordinator) posts is 
his obvious indifference to the financial and organizational harm his 
union's stance is likely to cause Coho-USA.

The Coho Board, after spending most of the last year planning this 
conference, have now been pulling out their collective hair over this and 
have searched without success for a viable alternative.  Obviously they 
couldn't find any feasible way to break their contract and move the 
conference to another venue at this late date. I really hope that those of 
you who were planning on coming until this stuff hit the fan will go ahead 
and sign up before the registration goes up on April 1.

As cohousing folks, we're used to thinking that we can talk with people 
whose ideas on some issue are totally different from ours, and by talking 
together in good faith we may well come up with a solution that everyone 
can live with.  But the union has refused to engage in any kind of 
discussion with Coho-USA to try to find a solution - they just repeat what 
is essentially an ultimatum to abandon the original venue no matter the 
cost, or possibly see the annual Coho conference in ruins due to low 
attendance - either way, a completely lose-lose proposition for Coho-USA.

Many of us have a reflexive sympathy for any union, but I don't think this 
requires us to cooperate with them in sabotaging the annual Coho 
conference. The union stands to gain by any loss of attendance at the 
conference, since that can only harm the hotel, whereas any harm to 
Coho-USA and to cohousing are of no concern to the union.  A boycott is a 
handy tactic - basically, let others bleed for your cause. It bothers me 
greatly to see this.

    Muriel at Shadowlake Village Cohousing
    Blacksburg, VA