filed under Blogosphere | Organized Labor
Netroots Nation 2011 Not Coming To Providence
12:21PM ON
07/21/2010
BY
Dave Segal
Nolan Treadway of Netroots Nation just posted this diary to Kos, as the 2010 convention gets underway in Vegas. They’re standing with the Westin workers, but would love to come to Providence — and the Westin — after the dispute is resolved:
As I’m sitting in Las Vegas, ready to start the last prep day for Netroots Nation 2010, we must address an open question regarding Netroots Nation 2011….
You may recall a few months ago when Netroots Nation made the unprecedented decision to go public with our venue search in the hopes that we could show the management of the Providence Westin that being good to your workers is not just the moral thing to do, but it also makes good business sense.
We would all love to have this convention in Providence in some future year, AFTER the Procaccianti Group wakes up and negotiates a fair contract with it’s employees.
Sadly, things at the Westin have gone from bad to worse. In June, the owners of the Providence Westin, The Procaccianti Group, announced that they would be cutting 50 union jobs (of the 200 at the Providence Westin) and that those jobs would be outsourced to a (presumably non-union) subcontractor. It’s clear that the Procaccianti Group has no interest in bargaining in good faith and, in my personal opinion, it’s end goal is to break the union at the Providence Westin altogether.
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July 21st, 2010 at 1:46PM
Beth Comery Says:
Goddammmit!
July 21st, 2010 at 3:16PM
Andy Says:
Perhaps its all a scheme on behalf of TPG to just bankrupt the Westin Providence all together- after all- its what their best at.
Andy replied:
July 21st, 2010 at 3:18PM
*THEY’RE
geez to me
July 21st, 2010 at 3:17PM
Andy Says:
*THEY’RE
geez
July 21st, 2010 at 3:56PM
Josh Says:
This is sad. Providence would have been the perfect place for us. I think in the end, we’re probably hurting the employees more than the owners. This should be considered. More union members will probably lose their jobs or have hours cut due to this decision.
Stop Corporate Criminals replied:
July 22nd, 2010 at 8:10PM
The employees voted 138-2 for the boycott. The General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board has authorized multiple complaints against the Westin Providence for serious violations of national labor law. The Westin management has imposed nearly unlimited outsourcing and subcontracting rights. If the workers don’t fight and just sit and accept the illegal behavior, don’t you think the owners will subcontract or outsource a lot more jobs?
July 21st, 2010 at 3:57PM
Josh Says:
This is sad and a shame. Please reconsider this decision. We are hurting the employees by doing this much more than the owners. The employees are being hurt by this decision.
July 22nd, 2010 at 1:16PM
Frymaster Says:
Didn’t TPG go chapter a few years ago? Didn’t they get a big investment from a CRE holdings group? Does TPG really call the shots? They’re an easy target, but I don’t think they are their own masters anymore. Depending on the qualities of the investing firm, that could be the villain.
August 9th, 2010 at 9:40AM
July 22nd | Yesterday on the Internet Says:
[...] Netroots Nation 2011 Not Coming To Providence | Providence Daily Dose – I can say here what I hint at in my comment. Proccianti Group was saved by an investment from a group called HEI, itself part of a private equity group that “invested” in a company I worked with. They are, um, not nice people. If they’re true to form, they’ve got TPG well and truly by the short hairs and they are wringing them out for every penny they’re worth. Even if TPG wanted to make nice with the union, they’re really powerless. If HEI are involved, then TPG are not their own masters. ======= [...]