Dear Colleagues, As some of you know, there has been an ongoing labor dispute within Aramark, the company that provides food service to the Boston Convention Center. APA has struggled with this decision as they want to be supportive of respecting fair labor practices (the National Labor Relations Board has issued a complaint against ARAMARK ) and the collective bargaining process but also providing food to Convention attendees. They are working on solutions including a lunchtime trolley.
Division 48 (Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, and Violence) has been in contact with both the union and APA to work on these issues. I've pasted below the letter from the union to Division 48, a letter from the union to APA, and APA's statement to Convention attendees. Please read these statements. Note that the union is not asking anyone to boycott the Convention Center but rather ask for us to simply not buy food at the Convention Center. If you are attending the Convention, you may want to bring you lunch or schedule time to eat off site. Best wishes and I look forward to seeing many of you in Boston! Linda ***************** Thank you for your email. We have received numerous outraged emails from APA members in regards to the leaderships decision. The workers are not asking to boycott the convention center, simply the food at the convention center. At this point, I think two things would be great: 1. communicating with the board/leadership in regard to their decision, 2. get a couple psychologists to our picket lines. They are Thursday morning from 8:30-10:30 and Friday night from 4-6. We will never forget your support in our struggle, James McNeil UNITE HERE Local 26 33 Harrison Ave Boston, MA 02111 Phone:(617) 832-6648 Fax:(617) 426-7684 www.local26.org <http://www.local26.org/> ************ From: James McNeil [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, August 08, 2008 8:26 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: APA and ARAMARK Dear Judy, I am writing on behalf of the 350 food service workers at the Hynes Convention Center and the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center who have been struggling for decency and respect in contract negotiations with their employer, ARAMARK since September 2007. Throughout these negotiations we believe there has been an atmosphere of fear and intimidation. The National Labor Relations Board has issued a complaint against ARAMARK at the HYNES/BCEC for allegedly interfering with, restraining, and coercing employees in the exercise of their rights, discriminating in regard to hire, tenure or terms of employment of its employees, thereby discouraging membership in a labor organization and failing and refusing to bargain collectively and in good faith. We voted 294 to 7 in favor of a strike and boycott. We struck both facilities June 21, 22 and 23 and have called for a boycott of ARAMARK at the Convention Centers. I am at the very least disappointed that I had to receive notice APA was not honoring these workers via countless outraged emails from our allies and other APA members. I expected at the very least a conversation with you, Candy or a reply from your legal counsel. It is not my understanding that this is an issue of principle, since APA has a long history of striving for social justice, so lets talk logistics. Last month a convention of comparable size, The National Association of Letter Carriers, utilized the Westin Waterfront, the Seaport Hotel and Trade Center (a 5 minute walk), the Renaissance (a five minute walk) and shuttled members into town for food. They made these arrangements knowing it was not convenient, knowing some attendees were going to go hungry-because it was the right thing to do. Because their principled stance, over 50 of our members were thanking them with water bottles and thank you letters outside. Rather than picket, we would love to do the same for APA. On behalf of your membership and mine, I urge you to please honor us in our struggle and reconsider your decision. As you know, "Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals. ". MLK Sincerely, James McNeil UNITE HERE Local 26 33 Harrison Ave Boston, MA 02111 Phone:(617) 832-6648 Fax:(617) 426-7684 www.local26.org <http://www.local26.org/> *************-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Information for Boston meeting attendees Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2008 14:00:00 -0400 (EDT) From: APA Convention Office <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dear 2008 APA Convention Meeting Attendee: We look forward to hosting you next week in Boston. As you know, the great majority of convention sessions and events will be held at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. Within the past month, we have been informed that ARAMARK, the company that provides food service at the Convention Center, is in negotiations with its employees, members of the Food Services Employee Union, Local 26. While it is important to note that the Union is not currently on strike, there have been periodic demonstrations at the Convention Center over the summer. It is possible that picketers could be present during our meeting. The Union communicated to APA that if we were to agree not to have any food served in the Convention Center during our meeting, they would not picket. While there is a Westin Hotel close to the Convention Center, there are very few other options for purchasing food within a reasonable walking distance. (Remember that we are not meeting at the Hynes Convention Center in the Back Bay area---we have grown too big for that meeting location). Given that our meeting runs from early in the morning until late afternoon, APA determined that it could not leave thousands of convention-goers without convenient access to food. APA was faced with a difficult choice concerning this issue. By contract, we cannot make alternative arrangements for food services during our meeting. The Board of Directors has therefore decided that in the interest of members' health and comfort, we must provide access to food and water during the meeting. The purpose of this message is to make you aware of the situation and APA's actions. Individual members are, of course, free to make whatever choice they are most comfortable with concerning their food purchase options. The Convention Center will provide a lunchtime trolley service to neighborhood restaurants. The service, which will accommodate a limited number of attendees, will be available between 12 noon and 3:00 PM. It will leave the Convention Center every 10--15 minutes and run a route with stops near numerous neighborhood restaurants. Additional details will be available at the Trolley Desk in the North Lobby of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. For more information about the issues involved in the labor dispute you can visit the ARMARK Web site at http://www.aramark.com/Home.aspx?PostingID=21&ChannelID=2 <http://maestro.apa.org:1892/trk/click?ref=zp000s09a_0-34cx343cx38302&;> the Union's Web site at http://www.bostonhotelunion.org/news.html <http://maestro.apa.org:1892/trk/click?ref=zp000s09a_0-34cx343dx38302&;> Thank you. Judy Strassburger Executive Director Governance Affairs -- -- Linda M. Woolf, Ph.D. Professor, Psychology and International Human Rights Past-President, Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, & Violence (Div. 48, APA) <http://www.peacepsych.org> Steering Committee, Psychologists for Social Responsibility (PsySR) <http://www.psysr.org> Secretary, Raphael Lemkin Award Committee, Institute for the Study of Genocide <http://www.instituteforthestudyofgenocide.org/> Webster University 470 East Lockwood St. Louis, MO 63119 Main Webpage: http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/ <http://www.webster.edu/%7Ewoolflm/> [EMAIL PROTECTED] "Outside of a dog, a book is a man's (and woman's) best friend. . . . Inside a dog, it's too dark to read." - Groucho Marx --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
