Groups
Avoid Hotels in Dispute
Democrats, Gays Find New Venues; Teachers Union May Skip S.F.
San Francisco Chronicle - May 26, 2005
By George Raine
Two
groups with meetings scheduled in San Francisco say they will
take their business away from hotels locked in a dispute with
union workers, while a major teacher's organization warns
it might leave the city altogether.
The
American Federation of Teachers, planning a meeting for several
thousand people in July 2006, said in a letter to San Francisco
hotels that it will move to another city if the hotel labor
dispute is not resolved by Aug. 1.
In
addition, the Young Democrats of America said Wednesday it
is moving its biennial national convention in August out of
the St. Francis, one of 14 hotels that have not yet signed
contracts to replace agreements that expired nine months ago.
And the Gay Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation said it will
relocate its 16th annual media awards event on June 11 from
the St. Francis to the Festival Pavilion at Fort Mason.
Local
2 of the hotel workers union has been pressing a boycott of
the 14 big hotels.
The
meeting of the teachers group represents about 13,000 nightly
room rentals and would inject about $8 million into the city's
economy, said John Marks, president and CEO of the San Francisco
Convention and Visitors Bureau.
"We
have a couple of months to either have some resolution to
this or convince them it's in their best interests to come,
which we feel is the case, '' said Marks.
The
Democratic group will use another San Francisco hotel for
its Aug. 3- 7 gathering, but a contract had not been signed
as of Wednesday, said Rocky Fernandez, the chairman of the
host committee. Some 1,000 delegates are expected.
Guests
will avoid the St. Francis and the 13 other hotels being boycotted
by Local 2, said Fernandez.
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