[URBANTH-L]Student Issues in SUNTA and the AAA, Other Postings

[Angela Jancius]

----- Original Message -----
From: peter lawson
To: urbanth-l at lists.ysu.edu
Sent: Sunday, October 24, 2004 3:32 AM
Subject: Student Issues in SUNTA and the AAA

To my student colleagues of SUNTA and beyond,

As the elected (and here I will be clear that I was the only candidate)
student councillor to the executive board of SUNTA, I would like to
acknowledge the particular needs, desires and positions of student members
of SUNTA (and perhaps more broadly the AAA). If those of us who would like
to address the particular positions of students would please submit their
comments to me here pjlawson at hotmail.com or at peter.lawson at case.edu I will
do my best to facilitate the discussion as the issues surrounding the AAA
meeting unfold.

In solidarity with all those who struggle,

Peter Lawson

----- Original Message -----
From: Kelly Neiman
To: Angela Jancius
Sent: Sunday, October 24, 2004 2:05 PM
Subject: Re: [URBANTH-L]AAA Meetings moved to Atlanta

Hello
What is SUNTA's position, will they still be having presentations and
sessions at the conference in Atlanta?

----- Original Message -----
From: "Heide Castaneda" <hcastane at email.arizona.edu>
To: <urbanth-l at lists.ysu.edu>
Sent: Sunday, October 24, 2004 1:42 PM
Subject: Re: [URBANTH-L] A Labor Lawyer's Opinion, Visas,
InternationalTicket Reimbursement


I just wanted to add (apropos Zoë's comments regarding ticket change fees)
that
many of us have tickets on airlines that do not even fly to Atlanta, e.g.,
Southwest Airlines. This is the case for many of us graduate students at U
Arizona.

In other words, the tickets are neither refundable nor transferable - I'm
out
much more than $100 as well - so the suggestion by the Board that simply
changing our tickets is an option is ridiculous.

Heide

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Heide Castaneda, M.A., M.P.H.
Department of Anthropology
& College of Public Health
University of Arizona
Mobile (USA): (520) 270 - 6247
Mobile (Germany): 0160 - 522 8284

Date: Sun, 24 Oct 2004 08:26:07 -0500
To: urbanth-l at lists.ysu.edu
From: asteiner at mail.utexas.edu
Subject: Fwd: MESA 2004 and the hotel strike in San Francisco
----- Original Message -----
From: Kelly Neiman
Sent: Sunday, October 24, 2004 2:05 PM
Subject: Re: [URBANTH-L]AAA Meetings moved to Atlanta

>Delivered-To: asteiner at mail.utexas.edu
>X-IronPort-MID: 255996502
>X-SBRS: 3.5
>X-BrightmailFiltered: true
>X-Ironport-AV: i="3.86,94,1096866000";
>    d="scan'208"; a="255996502:sNHT13984952"
>Date: Sat, 23 Oct 2004 15:58:02 -0700 (PDT)
>From: Afra Al-Mussawir <afraalmussawir at yahoo.com>
>Subject: Fwd: MESA 2004 and the hotel strike in San Francisco
>To: asteiner at mail.utexas.edu
>
>
>--- "Mark J. Lowder" <mlowder at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU> wrote:
>
>>  Date:         Sat, 23 Oct 2004 13:18:06 -0700
>>  From: "Mark J. Lowder" <mlowder at EMAIL.ARIZONA.EDU>
>>  Subject: MESA 2004 and the hotel strike in San Francisco
>>  To: MESA-GSO at LISTSERV.ARIZONA.EDU
>>
>>  Please pardon any duplicate postings of the following message.
>>
>>  To: San Francisco Meeting Registrants
>>
>>  From: Amy Newhall, Executive Director
>>
>>  Subject: Hyatt Regency Embarcadero Labor Dispute
>>
>>  Fourteen Hotels in San Francisco are involved in a labor dispute with
>>  one of the unions representing hotel workers. The Hyatt Regency, our
>>  contracted hotel for the annual meeting, is one of these hotels. The
dispute
>>  centers on wages, medical coverage and length of contract. Members of
Unite Here
>>  Local  2, the union representing cooks, dishwashers, bellmen, servers,
room
>>  cleaners and switchboard operators, continue to be locked out and
>>  continue  to picket hotels. Other union members have returned back to
work.
>>  The Hyatt Regency continues to serve customers (including large
convention
>>  groups).  Unfortunately, there seems to be no end to the dispute in
sight and
>>  there is no way of calculating when it will be over. Links to newspaper
>>  articles can  be found below.
>>
>>  MESA's Board of Directors considered the problem of what to do about
>>  this situation very carefully.  As custodians of the organization, and
>>  those responsible for its survival, they determined that the financial
>>  vulnerability of the association was too great to cancel the meeting.
>>  The association can cope with neither the loss of income nor the threat
>>  of a  breach of contract suit. The meeting cannot be moved without
incurring the
>>  same liabilities.
>>
>>  "We as the board have a responsibility to make sure that MESA
>>  continues to have the financial wherewithal to continue to provide the
many
>>  wonderful services it does to this community, especially now. Therefore,
for
>>  me, this  is not just a question of crossing a picket line -- although
if it
>>  comes to that I will do so with enormous regret and anger -- this is
about
>>  what we as a board owe to an institution with a nearly 40-year history,
which
>>  has played such an important role in the life of so many students and
>>  scholars of the region."
>>
>>  Further, in view of the critical state of our field, our community,
>>  and our organization at this particular moment in time, the directors
felt it
>>  was extremely important that a meeting be available and respects
members'
>>  right to choose whether to attend or not to attend.
>>
>>  The Board of Directors has sent letters to Hotel management
>>  expressing our unhappiness with the continued dispute and exhorting a
just
>>  resolution for the striking workers. We encourage members to do the
same. Members
>>  might wish to consider contributing to the workers' support fund.
>>
>>  MESA has determined that the hotel continues to provide uninterrupted
>>  service to its clientele, but individual members may prefer not to
>>  stay at  the Hyatt. They can cancel their sleeping room reservations at
the
>>  Hyatt and refrain from using the hotel's restaurants and outlets. For
those who
>>  choose to attend but would prefer not to stay in the hotel, please
notify us
>>  and MESA staff can help you find an alternative non-lockout/striking
>>  hotel. Sessions must take place at the Hyatt. We ask panelists to notify
the
>>  Secretariat of any change in plans to attend the meeting via the MESA
>>  email  account.