Well, I'd imagine that it might be interesting if they were tinker gnomes.

(letting my nerdosity slip out slowly so as not to frighten everyone)

Question two : Why have these post gone from "hey I'm at Norwescon and LOVING IT" from "hey I'm at Norwescon and look at what all these other people are doing...gnome-sponsored party...am I right?"

It would be nice if we had more union hotels. They tend to be better run with more experienced employees. But hotels don't want to pay the wages, and they don't want older employees. They'd rather just have some clowns they can string along for a few years.

If you want to talk scab hotels, look no further than the shiny new downtown Sheraton. Or the Olympic. Or the Hyatt....

Why is the Stranger so utterly opposed to labor? It will post videos with fond comments of Malcolm X, of Martin Luther King, Jr,. It will even Suggest the mediocre Chicago 10 movie--but god forbid it involve Stranger staff walk off Pike/Pine, because labor rallies aren't cool hipsters with skinny jeans. They're populated by working class people, and I have a feeling that has something to do with it.

That said, here's a patronize/do not patronize list of hotels in the Puget Sound region:

http://www.herelocal8.org/?zone=/unionactive/view_article.cfm&HomeID=12651

A fan-run con is not an easy event to fit into the life of a hotel that runs on business trips and airline personnel lay-overs; the SF fans running such a con cannot just pick up and move to another hotel of their choice. Maybe many years ago that was possible; but this is the post-80s Material World and SF fans are not necessarily the most sought-after patrons. They don't travel on expense accounts and their ability to maintain a sense of wonder -- with all the exotic manifestations that such wonder inspires -- often frightens the less imaginative patrons.

At least the SF fans are aware of the labor disputes, and their actions end up getting the attention of (and mention by) a reporter to a newspaper. That is a Good Thing. Now more people know about the problem than did before, which is one small victory.

In the meantime, the tradition continues, which also is valuable.

Because immigrants have no agency themselves... but yes, UNITE does put on a hell of a party at demonstrations. There's nothing quite like walking through a convention chanting and seeing a worker smile and raise their fist...

As for "doing nothing" for them, the last contract signed at these very do-not-patronize hotels gave covered employees over $3.00/hr wages and benefits raises.