Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: How can we have a successful national conference and respect the hotel boycott at the same time?

[Ann Zabaldo (zabaldo]

Hello Susan --

Thank you for bringing back this issue to us.  It's a sticky one.

Since March when I became aware of this labor action at the Sheraton I have 
struggled to figure out how to honor my values regarding labor issues, strikes, 
boycotts, etc. and my values about cohousing.  I wonder if others are 
struggling as well?  

Cohousing is about a group of people getting together to build a community of 
choice around living together.  Similarly, a union is about a group of people 
getting together to build a community of choice around working together.  So 
crossing a picket line for me would be saying: my community is more important 
than your community.

I am saddened by this situation.  I'm looking for anyway possible to attend the 
conference and still be consistent w/ my values.  Back in March, I hoped this 
issue would be resolved by the conference.  A little polyanna-ish on my part.

So it looks as if for the first time ever ... I will miss a conference.  (I 
missed the very first one held in Canada I believe because I didn't know it was 
going on.)  But ever since the next one in Boulder ... I've come.  

Although I am not attending the conference (unless something happens to make it 
possible -- hope springs eternal!) I am still supporting the cohousing 
community by working on venues outside the hotel.  I'm actively promoting the 
incredible bus tours Neil Planchon has organized.  If you want to learn about 
cohousing really fast ... go on a bus tour!  Along w/ my biz partner, Jack, my 
business Cohousing Collaborative, LLC is hosting the only book event on the 
East Coast celebrating Katie and Chuck's publication of the 3rd Edition of The 
Book That Started It All:  "Creating Cohousing."   Buy a copy at the conference 
book store and have Katie and Chuck sign it!  I'm also involved in two or more 
workshops being held at Takoma Village where I live.  And I've gotten people in 
my community to help find housing for folks who cannot afford to stay at the 
hotel, and to organize a Sunday afternoon Open House for conferees unable to go 
on one of the bus tours.

Still.  All of the above falls short of attending the conference, connecting 
with new folks and reconnecting w/ others.  And yet ... I cannot in good faith 
attend the conference when it means putting my needs over the needs of others 
just because I can.

And I think there's a LOT more at stake here than attending a conference.  The 
conference is going to be a big success but I wonder if something else is being 
lost.  Something we might not get back.

I dunno.  

What do you all think?



Best --

Ann Zabaldo
Takoma Village Cohousing
Washington, DC
Principal, Cohousing Collaborative, LLC
Falls Church VA
703 663 3911

On May 25, 2011, at 12:47 AM, Susan wrote:

> 
> Hello All,
> Since I
> joined coho-L I've been looking for communication about the upcoming
> conference in Washington and more specifically about the labor dispute at
> the hotel. Ever since I learned about the union boycott of the Sheraton
> Crystal City, I’ve been obsessed with trying to find a solution that would
> allow me to attend the conference without ignoring the boycott. I’ve made it
> my business to learn about the working conditions at the hotel, that is
> owned by a corporation called HEI, and to understand the conference
> committee and Cohousing Board’s reasons for not moving the conference. My
> intention in writing to the coho-L is to broaden the conversation between
> those who will be coming to the conference and those who, like me, would
> love to come, but won’t because of the boycott. I’m not interested in
> trashing the Board or undermining the conference; I just want to ask what
> can we learn from this experience and *what should we do now*?
> 
> 
> Here is more information about the boycott and labor dispute with HEI
> Hotels.
> 
> http://www.hotelworkersrising.org/hei/
> 
> 
> Sincerely,
> Susan Green
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