April 24, 2013

Dear AERA Members and 2013 Annual Meeting Attendees,

AERA was notified on April 22 that a number of Annual Meeting attendees were calling on the Association to boycott the Grand Hyatt San Francisco, one of AERA’s six headquarter hotels for the 2013 Annual Meeting. Those advocating for AERA to take action note that, while there is not a labor strike underway at the hotel, it is on a boycott list maintained by the UNITE HERE union. The Grand Hyatt and UNITE HERE have been negotiating a new contract for quite some time.

AERA has a demonstrated commitment to supporting fair labor policies, which has, and continues to play, a significant role in determining where the Association holds its Annual Meetings. In addition, AERA previously relocated the 2013 Annual Meeting from Atlanta to San Francisco because of a restrictive state immigration law (incurring significant penalties to do so) so that all could attend our meeting free of concerns about their full participation in the meeting, regardless of their backgrounds and identities.

However, with the 2013 Annual Meeting beginning on April 27, it simply is not practical, or in the best interests of AERA’s members, for the Association to boycott the Hyatt. Independent of costs to the Association, and thus its members, of cancelling a contract with the Hyatt, there is simply no place to move. Fifteen percent of AERA’s total 2013 Annual Meeting sessions are scheduled at the Hyatt. Canceling the sessions, with no other inventory available in the city at this late point, would be a disservice to those session presenters and the members traveling to San Francisco to attend the sessions.

After the Annual Meeting, a discussion of UNITE HERE’s boycott campaign against the Hyatt, and its implications for future AERA meetings, will be undertaken by Council. We encourage those who wish to discuss the topic to attend the Business Meeting on Wednesday, May 1, 8:15 to 9:45 a.m., at the Hilton Union Square, Continental 7. 

Bill and Felice                                               

William G. Tierney
AERA 2013 President

Felice J. Levine
AERA Executive Director