Hi everyone,
This is a long overdue update on the status of the union hotel resolution. We were able to claim
a small victory, as the AAG Council unanimously passed a directive instructing the ED to actively
solicit union hotel and service bids, and to report upon these efforts yearly to Council. Here?s
the language:
***
The Council directs the Executive Director to make every effort to actively solicit and give
preference to a suitable unionized hotel in cities selected for AAG meetings, provided that such
hotel's rates and facilities and competitive with those of non-union hotels;
and the Council directs the Executive Director to report to Council on the implementation of this
initiative as part of the regular report on future AAG meetings, and include discussion of the
issue in the minutes of the Council meeting.
***
While this is a positive first step on the AAG?s part, the directive's language is inadequate.
First, it requires that a union hotel bid be "competitive" with those of non-union hotels; this
provides the AAG a huge loophole for selecting non-union shops. Second, the directive does not
require that the AAG bargain for "force majeure" language in hotel contracts, i.e., language that
would allow the AAG to move the conference in the event of a labor dispute and thereby give the
AAG some leverage in resolving labor disputes at contracted hotels. For those who are interested,
I have attached a more detailed account of resolution/directive language below. Many thanks to
everyone who supported the campaign! I think that if we monitor the AAG's progress over the
coming year and continue to apply pressure, we can continue to move forward. I will send out
another update this summer.
**ALSO: the most exciting thing about getting academic conferences to use union hotels is the
power that could be built if several academic organizations adopting similar resolutions. This
summer, I may be working with a few folks from different disciplines to make this happen. Please
let me know if you are a member of any other academic/professional organizations in which
membership and/or leadership would be likely to support a union hotel resolution.
Best regards,
Chris Niedt
***
More detail:
In early February, I put out feelers in the geography lists, hotel union (HERE), and AAG power
structure to gauge interest in a resolution or constitutional amendment. I got some enthusiasm
from HERE and the lists, and the AAG current and incoming presidents were both receptive to the
resolution idea. So a couple weeks before the Annual Meeting, I gathered together a small group
composed of a few lefty geographers, the AAG current and incoming presidents, and a researcher
from the HERE Washington office ? to write resolution language. Below I?ve pasted the initial
resolution's provisions, with annotations explaining the logic behind them (*) and the AAG
Council's response (**):
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the AAG will adopt, as part of its standing rules, a policy of
union preference in negotiating hotel and service contracts for the Annual Meeting and for any
other meetings organized by the national Association; and
THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that those responsible for negotiating and administering said
contracts shall, in accordance with this policy of union preference:
(a) continue to vary Annual Meeting locations by city and by region; and
(b) prioritize open bidding in the contracting process, rather than the development of
relationships between the association and particular hotels; and
* provision (a) reassures those worried about limiting conference location, and prevents the AAG
from siting a string of future conferences in the non-union South; provision (b) maximizes the
selection of union hotels and prevent the development of informal relationships between AAG HQ and
the sales offices of anti-union hotel chains
**the AAG Council, for reasons that are still not entirely clear to me, dislikes passing
resolutions and prefers passing directives. So they removed the "whereas" language (not included
here) and the two introductory clauses. They also ignored (a) and (b) when they re-wrote the
resolution, on the grounds that the Association already varied meeting location and used an open
bidding process.
(c) give first preference to a suitable unionized hotel and/or service provider from the list of
open bids, provided that contracting with such providers would not result in prohibitively
expensive fees for conference participants; if no union hotel/service provider can be thus
selected, the AAG shall choose another hotel that meets the Association's conference needs; and
*institutes union preference, with compromise language on "suitablility" and "prohibitively
expensive fees";
**the AAG strengthened "give first preference" to "make every effort to actively solicit and give
preference." However, by changing language on "suitability" and "prohibitively expensive fees" to
a requirement that union hotels submit "competitive" bids, the Council shifted the onus from the
staff (who would need to "prove" that conference fees would be prohibitive) to the hotels (who
must "compete"). As "competitive" is also left undefined, it provides a large loophole for
non-union hotel selection.
(d) select only hotels that agree to include force majeure clauses(1) in their contracts with AAG,
such that the AAG is excused from performance in the event of a labor dispute; and
[Footnote to (d), in the submitted resolution:
(1) Most hotel contracts contain a force majeure clause that excuses the hotel from performing if
things like acts of God, war, or riots occur. Strikes and labor disputes are often included,
though only the hotel is excused, not the group planning to use the hotel.]
*requires the AAG to retain the right to move the conference; if a labor dispute actually did
actually arise, we would need to pressure the AAG, such that they would pressure the hotel/service
provider;
**the Council balked at the implications of this (the prospect of actually moving a conference).
We need to continue to work to get this contract language.
(e) report on the implementation of this policy to the membership yearly, preferably at the
association's Business Meeting and/or in the AAG newsletter.
*allows membership to monitor the implementation of the policy;
**the passed directive requires that the ED report on the policy to the Council; the Council
minutes would then be published in the AAG newsletter. This is hardly ideal, as any discussion
will be buried in the minutes of a two-day meeting, but at least it's public.
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