Strike Hits San Francisco Hotels

Workers are locked out, but so far no problems reported at conventions

By Margo McCall -- Tradeshow Week, 10/11/2004

If the experience of the American Assn. of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons is any indication, conferences and trade-shows shouldn't be drastically affected by the hotel strike underway in San Francisco.

The annual meeting for about 4,000 surgeons kicked off at the Hilton San Francisco on Sept. 29 — the same day that Local 2 of Unite Here started picketing at four downtown hotels, and just days before 10 other hotels locked out workers.

Marquita Hynes, communications associate for the surgeons' association, said the disruptions were minimal. "A lot of people are sensitive to their issues. I've seen people go out and shake the strikers' hands," she said. "But I think the inconveniences are pretty small. The hotel is doing the best it can."

There have been slight changes. For instance, plastic cutlery and paper plates replaced the china and glass normally used during the opening ceremony. And a breakfast restaurant was closed.

Reed Exhibitions' pharmaceutical show, BIOPHEX, was lucky enough to have selected two Marriott hotels and the Palace Hotel for its room block, said Industry Vice President Kevin Richards, rather than the affected hotels. BIOPHEX, collocated with INTERPHEX California, took place at Moscone Center Sept. 28–29.

Several other shows are scheduled days after Local 2 of Unite Here, which represents more than 8,000 San Francisco hotel workers, ends its two-week strike against the Argent Hotel, Crowne Plaza Union Square, Hilton and Intercontinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco. Thousands of members of the same union went on strike Oct. 1 at a half-dozen casinos in Atlantic City.

But with contract negotiations still unresolved between hoteliers and the Unite Here locals in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., some organizers are closely monitoring the situation. Besides the usual sticking points over wages and health benefits, the union is asking for two-year contracts that would enable Unite Here to negotiate on a national level with national hotel chains in 2006.

The American College of Emergency Physicians Scientific Assembly is expected to draw 5,500 attendees and 300 exhibitors to Moscone Center Oct. 17–20. Jack Fritz, the group's director of meeting sites and exhibits, said he's received assurances that the strike will not affect the meeting. While the event's headquarters hotel isn't one of the 14 employing Local 2 workers, just about every other property in the meeting's hotel room block is on the list.

"We've been in contact with the bureau, and we're being told that they're not going to miss a beat," Fritz said, adding that his group has fielded numerous member inquiries and worked to keep them informed. "Now we're more concerned about earthquakes," he quipped.

Rob Mesirow, vice president of conventions for CTIA, the Wireless Assn., said he's hoping the strike is over by the time attendees and exhibitors begin flocking in for Wireless IT & Internet Oct. 25–27 at Moscone Center. "I fully expect that this will be resolved," he said.

With contingency plans in place at affected hotels in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., disruption to events is expected to be minimal if more of the hotels' unionized workers walk off the job.

Mesirow said he's experienced two hotel strikes during his nearly two decades in the tradeshow business, and with replacement workers and managers filling slots, service levels typically remain fairly high. "I've seen hotel managers trying to do ice carvings," he said.

The cities' CVBs say they are fielding calls from clients and answering questions as best possible. "We've been tracking and monitoring the issue for the past two months and providing clients with information. But the reality of the situation is it's 14 out of 80-plus properties in the District of Columbia. It's not the entire city," said Victoria Isley, vice president of marketing and communications for the Washington D.C. Convention & Tourism Corp. She added that the last hotel strike in Washington D.C. was in 1946.

Although hotel representatives declined to detail their contingency plans, hiring replacement workers is the typical strategy. Hotels are assuring potential guests that they will strive to retain service levels should the workers walk out.

"All of the hotels have contingency plans. But we're not talking about what a lot of those are. They're using a variety of tactics," said Fred Muir, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Hotel Employer's Council, which represents the city's nine affected unionized hotels.

Four of those hotels — the Wilshire Grand Hotel & Centre, the Millennium Biltmore Hotel, the Westin Bonaventure and the Hyatt Regency Los Angeles — are situated downtown near the L.A. Convention Center. But with consumer shows such as the Los Angeles Times Festival of Health & Fitness and the Home Remodeling & Decorating Show dominating the convention center's schedule over the next month, and drawing mostly local audiences, the impact of a strike is expected to be minimal.

But some events are being held at hotels that could potentially be targeted for a walkout. The Natl. Purchasing Institute Annual Conference & Products Exposition, for example, is slated to take place at the Wilshire Grand Hotel Oct. 17–21. Richard Schlegel, who manages the show for the Las Vegas-based institute, said he was unaware of the labor strife. Should a strike take place, he said, "I can't imagine that it wouldn't affect service levels."

No one in Los Angeles could recall a previous time when hotel workers walked off the job. But in San Francisco, a 26-day strike in 1980 resulted in a new three-year contract. Some 14 union hotels are affected in the latest dispute, including several close to Moscone Center.