Trouble at INPUT
The San Francisco hotel workers conflict with management has come to the door of the ITVS (via alternet). ITVS is an organization funded by the Corporation of Public Broadcasting and is and responsible for much of the interesting programming seen on PBS. ITVS is the organizer of this year’s International Public Television (INPUT) conference, an important event for progressive public broadcasters from a dozen or so countries. ITVS had fundraised for this event for the last three years, however they are unwilling to side with the Unite Here Local 2 which wants them to withdraw their patronage of the Hilton (they lose over half a million dollars), and are going ahead with plans to hold the conference in the San Francisco Hilton:
Nevertheless, Fifer would like to be supportive of the union, and says she has suggested some creative alternatives, such as “sponsoring screenings of labor films, holding forums and discussions, and having independent filmmakers document the struggle of local 2 against the hotels.
“We’ve offered to support the union in any way we could,” says Fifer (Head of ITVS). “Just because I can’t move the conference, doesn’t mean I don’t support the union!”
“If you support them financially, you’re NOT supporting us,” counters local 2 Boycott Community Coordinator Kelly Dugan. “We don’t want any other support. The fight is economic. The only way to support us is to honor the boycott — either move or you’re aiding our enemy.”
“We don’t give passes to anybody,” adds Michael Casey. “There is no ‘creative solution.’ There is no middle ground.”
This is just sad.
May 2nd, 2005 at 11:48 pm
This surprises you? I don’t understand why so many progressives feel a knee jerk attachment to unions when often unions either do not back progressive causes, or if they do, do so in a very narrow parochial fashion.
My experience with unions? Unions were a large part of the nativism that welled up in the US in the 1970s. BUY AMERICAN! LOOK FOR THE UNION LABEL! GO BACK WHERE YOU CAME FROM! Unions have a long history of this sort of behavior - we never teach it this way, but Apartheid was born of an alliance between Afrikaner nationalists and White South African Unions.
What you’re describing is a milder, but still persistent trait of unions - their rigidity. Organizationally, American unions have very little incentive to be flexible. The costs are not born by those who make the decisions.
Sorry, I’ll end my rant here.
May 3rd, 2005 at 9:34 am
Actually I am sadder at the limits of liberal politics, and the state of things where a generally useful organization has to spend three years to raise funds for a conference. As for unions, as someone who is seeing their eight hour working day disappear (ten hours is normal now and more), and normal decency in professional relationships being eroded. I feel quite attached to the idea of a strong union right now, not that it helps, mine is pretty toothless, I am sure in part due to some of the darker aspects of labor history you point out, there is only so much contradiction a movement can stand. But still, pretty soon I’ll be buying bread from the company store.