Rochester City Newspaper
News Articles
LABOR: Boycotts, and all that jazz
By
Jeremy Moule On May. 15th, 2008
http://www.rochestercitynewspaper.com/news/articles/LABOR%3A+Boycotts%2C+and+all+that+jazz/
An ongoing labor dispute involving the Rochester Plaza Hotel is sounding a sour note for the Rochester International Jazz Festival. | Clergy, members of Laity United for Economic Justice, and labor leaders accuse the hotel management of interfering with workers' attempts to vote on unionizing. Hotel officials have said that they would abide by the results of a proper vote - but there hasn't enough support for a vote among workers. | As part of the boycott campaign, CLUE is urging festival guests and musicians to avoid staying at the hotel and to shun the after-hours jam sessions there. The group is treating the festival the same as any other customer of the hotel, says Kaaren Anderson, CLUE's vice chair. | The Jazz Festival is caught in the middle. The hotel has been a good partner over the years - artists and audiences love it, says Jean Dalmath, a spokeswoman for the Jazz Festival. | "It's unfortunate for the hotel to be singled out, because there are no hotels in Monroe County that are unionized," she says.