san diego
County pension board moves forward with conference at Manchester Grand Hyatt
Sheriff’s lieutenant opposes plan to use members’ money to fund event
Published Thursday, 14-Aug-2008 in issue 1077
Union members and one member of the county pension board voiced opposition Thursday to the board’s plan to host its annual investment conference at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in Downtown San Diego.
Dave Myers, a sheriff’s lieutenant elected to the San Diego County Employees Retirement Association (SDCERA) board, asked board members to consider moving the conference to another site, in light of Doug Manchester’s $125,000 contribution to qualify Proposition 8, a November ballot initiative that would ban same-sex marriage in California.
“That’s quite a statement [Manchester] is making with his checkbook, in opposition to equal rights for all Californians,” Myers said.
In July, the board voted to fund the $50,000 investment retreat using members’ fees. Myers cast the lone dissenting vote and suggested investment managers underwrite the cost.
During Thursday’s meeting, Myers said the board should not use members’ money to fund the conference at the Manchester Grand Hyatt.
“[Manchester] is using that money to turn around and discriminate against our members … and is using members’ money to deny rights to other people,” Myers said.
Despite Myers’ concern, no board member would second his motion to cancel the board’s contract with the hotel.
Instead, the board will research alternative sites, and explore new funding options for the conference, and discuss them at its meeting Aug. 21.
Myers said he will not attend the conference if it is hosted at Manchester’s property.
“I’m opposed to using members’ money or investment managers’ money used to underwrite this function somewhere that seeks to disenfranchise our members,” said Myers, who is gay.
Members of the Service Employees International Union Local 221 urged the board, during public comment, to find an alternative site for the investment conference.
“Holding your conference at the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel means that many county employees who pay into the pension system and are also union members would be forced to cross the picket line if they wish to attend,” said Michael Dobbins, a child support worker for the county. “For county workers like myself, who are members of the LGBT community, attending this conference would no longer be an option since it is being held at a hotel whose owner has donated to a ballot initiative that threatens the rights of my community.”
SEIU Local 221 member Jeff Graves agreed.
“As a member of the LGBT community, I feel precluded from attending the conference,” said Graves, an imaging technician for the county. “The money I contribute to the pension should not be used to support an anti-gay, anti-union establishment like the Manchester Grand Hyatt.”
In July, a coalition of labor leaders and same-sex marriage supporters launched a boycott of Manchester’s properties, including the Manchester Grand Hyatt. The coalition, led by UNITE Here Local 30 and a new nonprofit organization called Californians Against Hate, has staged demonstrations outside the Downtown hotel, and has encouraged event planners to cancel conferences and meetings there.
The labor union is also targeting what it calls discrimination against women and employees at the Manchester-owned Hyatt Downtown. According to the union, hotel housekeepers are forced to clean more rooms than housekeepers at other hotels, and employees have no job security if the hotel is sold.
County Supervisor and SDCERA board member Dianne Jacob, who has voiced opposition to same-sex marriage in the past, said ending the board’s contract with the hotel would be too litigious.
“There’s no evidence of discriminatory practices at this hotel, and this individual, as anyone does, has the right to their opinions and their views,” she said.
Bo Andras
says:
What about the Star 94.1 3rd anniversary/Thank You Party being held there
the NExt night Aug 22nd. I have contacted, CLear Channel that owns that
station, I have contact many members of the station and I have forward
infomation to the G&L times as well as left message for Nicole and the head
of the Center.
Aug 14, 2008 4:34 PM
Magdalena
says:
Bo Andras,
Aug 15, 2008 12:32 PM
Magdalena
says:
Bo Andras,
Aug 15, 2008 1:04 PM
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