(NOTE: Please only sign this petition if you are a member of the National Communication Association)
Since August of 2009, the members of UNITE HERE Local 2 have been struggling to renegotiate a union contract that secures affordable health care and retirement benefits. Currently the hotel companies are proposing cost increases that would make benefits unaffordable for many hotel workers.
One of this year's NCA convention hotels, the Hilton Union Square, has been affected by this dispute. Actions at this hotel and others have resulted in rallies, day long picket lines and strikes as well as continuing boycotts. The Hilton is currently the target of a boycott and the Parc 55 San Francisco, the other convention hotel, is also at risk of a labor dispute.
As NCA members, we have every desire to attend our annual conference. However, without a resolution to the current dispute, we cannot and will not enter the Hilton and, therefore, will not be registering for this year's convention. While we wish it can be otherwise, we simply refuse to compromise what we see as our ethical commitments as citizens to promote equitable workplace policies. Furthermore, as scholars and practitioners of human communication, we believe participation in justice-oriented public discourse is a precondition of good disciplinary citizenship.
