Please see the letter below from the ASA's leadership regarding labor issue at the ASA's 2010 Annual Meeting venue. This website will provide updates for those planning to attend the meeting. Please find a list of relevant links and materials at the bottom of this page. We welcome feedback regarding ASA's response at sanfrancisco@africanstudies.org
June 15, 2010
Dear ASA Members and Annual Meeting Participants:
We are writing this letter to make you aware of the labor situation that currently exists involving most major hotels in San Francisco, including the Westin St. Francis, where the ASA Annual Meeting is scheduled to take place in November. The collective bargaining agreement between the hotels and Unite Here! Local 2, which represents approximately 9,000 area hotel service workers, expired last year. Although there have been sporadic labor actions, the employees are continuing to work under the terms of the previous contract.
In March, Unite Here! contacted the ASA Acting Executive Director, Suzanne Baazet, and the ASA President, Charles Ambler, calling on the ASA to boycott the Westin St. Francis and move our meeting elsewhere. In response, the ASA President sent a letter to the Westin St. Francis expressing our serious concerns regarding the situation. At the same time, the Acting Executive Director and other ASA staff had discussions with Unite Here! regarding options for the ASA. In April, in conjunction with our Board meeting, the ASA President, Acting Executive Director, and in-coming Executive Director, Karen Jenkins, met with hotel representatives to once again express our concerns. In addition, the Board had extensive discussions regarding the situation and possible options.
We agreed that it was especially important that members and Annual Meeting participants be provided with up-to-date information regarding the situation and a clear explanation for Board action.
In recent years a number of academic associations have faced similar circumstances and several, including the American Anthropological Association and the Organization of American Historians, experienced severe financial repercussions as a consequence of relocation. The ASA Board, while strongly reaffirming our commitment to fair labor practices, has been guided foremost by our responsibility to protect the financial position of the Association and maintain our current financial stability.
The ASA staff has thoroughly explored a variety of options, including shifting hotels and moving the meeting to a different city. There are, however, no other suitable hotels in San Francisco that are available and are not also on the Unite Here! boycott list. In addition, the ASA contract with the Westin St. Francis (like most such contracts) includes very substantial financial penalties for withdrawal from the contract. We estimate that the additional costs of moving the meeting would substantially exceed $300,000—compared to the Association’s annual operating expenses of approximately $750,000.
In these circumstances Board members feel that it would be irresponsible to expose the Association to the severe financial hardship that would result from a decision to boycott the Westin St. Francis and move the Annual Meeting. At present, the hotel employees are continuing to work, and we hope that before the meeting in November the parties will reach a fair agreement. In the meantime, the ASA will continue to monitor the situation, stay in contact with union officials and explore our options. We will also be looking at ways that the ASA Board, members, and meeting registrants could express support for the hotel workers. We will also be in close contact with similarly affected organizations, including the National Communication Association. The Board will also investigate strategies for making fair labor practices an important consideration in decisions regarding the selection of annual meeting sites—decisions that are typically made five years in advance.
We are very excited about the theme of this year’s meeting and the large number of proposals that have been received for panels and papers. We look forward to seeing you there.
This letter will be posted on the ASA website and we will use that website to keep you up-dated on developments. Please do not hesitate to contact us with your concerns.
Sincerely,
Charles Ambler, ASA President
Judith Byfield, ASA Vice President
Karen Jenkins, ASA Executive Director
Informational Links and Resources
Unite Here! Local 2 Website
Hotel Council of San Francisco Website
