Hotel Strikes May Affect Cons Across the US
Unite Here, a major union representing hospitality workers throughout the United States, began a series of strikes this past weekend under the banner Respect Our Work. Some strikers have new returned to work; other hotels not yet affected may see strikes soon.
A struck hotel may not advertise the fact, but Unite Here has provided a labor disputes map which provides some information about current strikes and at-risk hotels.
Respect Our Work includes a pledge for allies to sign, which reads:
I PUBLICLY PLEDGE TO STAND WITH UNITE HERE MEMBERS AND HONOR THEIR FIGHT! If workers are on strike or call for a boycott, I will not eat, sleep, meet at their hotel. I will relocate or cancel all events and overnight stays until workers secure a new union contract that provides the dignity and respect they deserve.
Many fan conventions face massive penalties for relocating, cancelling, or not getting enough people to sign up for rooms. Especially with many conventions in a fragile state after COVID-related disruptions, these penalties can easily wipe out a conrunning organization. Unite Here offers model contract language that would allow an event off the hook if its hotel is struck, but the typical fan convention is also unlikely to have the leverage to get that into its contract.
A cautionary tale is Arisia 2019, which moved due to a strike at its intended hotels. Arisia’s board claimed force majeure (essentially, circumstances which would make it impossible to hold the convention as planned), but the hotels refused to accept that, and a long period of wrangling over $150,000 in cancellation fees followed. Arisia eventually settled with the hotels for a much smaller amount, but even that required an emergency fundraiser.
This leaves the union-loving fan with a convention at a struck hotel with an unpleasant choice: cross the picket lines, or face the possible death of their cherished local con. Conrunners can only hope their members aren’t forced to choose.
In Brief
Fran Skene, who chaired multiple conventions in the Vancouver, BC area, died June 17.
Bio at Fancyclopedia 3 • Remembrance in The Obdurate Eye (PDF)FanX Salt Lake (Salt Lake City, Utah, September 26-28) has added Kelsey Grammer, Temuera Morrison, Seann William Scott, and Daniel Logan.
Spooky Empire (Orlando, Florida, October 11-13) has added Jim Fye, Ernie Hudson, William Atherton, and Rosanna Arquette.
Game On Expo (Phoenix, Arizona, April 4-6) has added Magnus Bruun.
Event Calendar
Weekend of September 6-8
Kapitularz, Łódź, Poland
Albacon 2024, Clifton Park, New York, USA and online
ArmadilloCon 2024, Austin, Texas, USA
Furry Migration 2024: Lost in Time, Being Found (anthropomorphic), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
B-Con 2024 (gaming), Northglenn, Colorado, USA
Tabletop Central (gaming), Savoy, Illinois, USA
Tabletop Scotland (gaming), Perth, UK
Strong Tower Gaming Convention, Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA
QuestCon Orlando / Crucible (gaming), Orlando, Florida, USA
Council Con 2024, Schenectady, New York, USA
Connecturday (video games), Heredia, Costa Rica
F2 Con (video games), Clarksville, Tennessee, USA
SCG Con Tampa (collectible card games), Tampa, Florida, USA
Fighting Fantasy Fest 5 (Fighting Fantasy gamebooks), London, UK
Tracon (anime), Tampere, Finland
Connichi (anime), Wiesbaden, Germany
Anime Texas, Spring, Texas, USA
Anime 307, Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA
Comic Con Honolulu, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Fanboy Expo Orlando (media), Orlando, Florida, USA
Arkansas Comic Con, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
Colossalcon East (media), Pocono Manor, Pennsylvania, USA
Ottawa Comiccon, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Rose City Comic Con, Portland, Oregon, USA
Cub Con 2024 (media), Valdosta, Georgia, USA
Retro Con 2024 (‘80s media), Oaks, Pennsylvania, USA
Alpha Omega Con (Christian-themed sf media), Whittier, California, USA
Weekend of September 13-15
34th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and online
Furever West: Furry of the Opera (anthropomorphic), Laramie, Wyoming, USA
FurGiV 2024: Dragon Dance (anthropomorphic), Hanoi, Vietnam
Hawkland Gaming Festival, La Plata, Maryland, USA
Hold the Line (miniatures gaming), Port Clinton, Ohio, USA
Gaming Istanbul (video games), Istanbul, Turkey
Anime Conclave, Metairie, Louisiana, USA
Anime Houston, Houston, Texas, USA
Anime Fargo 2024: That Time I Got Isekai'd, Fargo, North Dakota, USA
AncientCityCon (media), St. Augustine, Florida, USA
Power Comicon, Florence, South Carolina, USA
Flower City Comic Con: Total Sports Experience, Rochester, New York, USA
Cartoon-A-Paloozah, Temecula, California, USA
Comic Con Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
London Comic Con, London, Ontario, Canada
Lagos Comic Convention, Lagos, Nigeria
Incredible Con (media), North Charleston, South Carolina, USA
Popcorn! (media), Sheffield, UK
East European Comic Con, Bucharest, Romania
Silver Scream Con III (horror media), Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
Weekend of September 20-22
Copernicon, Toruń, Poland
P-Con, Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Southern Maine Steampunk Fair, Kennebunk, Maine, USA
Eurofurence 28: Cyberpunk (anthropomorphic), Hamburg, Germany
West Aussie Fur Frenzy: Urban Beats (anthropomorphic), Freemantle, Australia
SIBCON XXVIII (gaming), Butler, Pennsylvania, USA
MegaMooseCon (gaming), Richburg, South Carolina, USA
Spellenfestival Genk (gaming), Genk, Belgium
CuseCon 2024 (gaming), Syracuse, New York, USA
Big Geek Con 2024 (gaming), Saginaw, Michigan, USA
Game Devs of Color Expo, online
Michigan GT (wargaming), Lansing, Michigan, USA
Southern Front 2024 (miniatures gaming), Morrisville, North Carolina, USA
Terra MystiCon (Terra Mystica boardgame), Montréal, Québec, Canada
Ani-Medford (anime), Medford, Oregon, USA
Spa-Con (media), Hot Springs, Arkansas, USA
Baltimore Comic-Con, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
ThunderCon (media), Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
Edmonton Expo (media), Edmonton, Alberta, USA
Granite State Comicon (media), Manchester, New Hampshire, USA
Creation Washington D.C. (media), Arlington, Virginia, USA
Ultracon Comic Con, West Palm Beach, Florida, USA
Weekend of September 27-29
Archon 47, Collinsville, Illinois, USA
Necronomicon 2024: Let the Journey Begin, Tampa, Florida, USA
Capclave 2024 (books), Rockville, Maryland, USA
Innsmouth Literary Festival (weird fiction and cosmic horror), Bedford, UK
Anno 1900 (steampunk), Lasauvage, Luxembourg
Furry Takeover: Dino Might (anthropomorphic), Fontana Dam, North Carolina, USA
Rügen Furcon 2024 (anthropomorphic), Binz, Germany
Planszówki w Spodku (gaming), Katowice, Poland
AB-Confusion (gaming), online
Shake, Battle & Roll (gaming), Southampton, UK
ShireCon 2024 (gaming), Canaan, Connecticut, USA
TableToppers ‘24 (gaming), Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA
Hurricon 2024: Engaging in Asymmetric Warfare (miniatures gaming), Kissimmee, Florida, USA
Barrage 2024 (miniatures gaming), Havre de Grace, Maryland, USA
MAGWest 2024 (video games), San Jose, California, USA
Pixel Expo: Act III (video games), Perth, Australia
Portland Retro Gaming Expo (retro video games), Portland, Oregon, USA
SkålCon 2024 (Pathfinder& Starfinder RPGs), Plymouth, Minnesota, USA
Rappig Crossing (Tales video games), Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Animate!, Des Moines, Iowa, USA
Animeverse Fest, Pasadena, Texas, USA
Anime St. Pete, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA
Tiger Con 2024 (anime), Valdosta, Georgia, USA
The Lakes International Comic Art Festival, Bowness-on-Windermere, UK
Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (comics and animation), Columbus, Ohio, USA
La Mole (media), Mexico City, Mexico
SiouxperCon 2024: Happily Ever After (media), Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA
King-Con 2024: Three Nights at King-Con (media), Kingman, Arizona, USA
Extremicon (media), St. Robert, Missouri, USA
Norcon (media), Norfolk, UK
FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Comic Con Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa
Fountain City Fandemonium (media), Bryan, Ohio, USA
Infinity Con Gainesville (media), Gainesville, Florida, USA
Missouri Anime Festival, Springfield, Missouri, USA
Lodi Comic Con, Lodi, California, USA
Colorado Fan Fest (media), Greeley, Colorado, USA
Fantasy Festival (media), Peristeri, Greece
Mare Fair (My Little Pony), Orlando, Florida, USA
The Uncanny Experience (X-Men), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Weekend of October 4-6
Octocon 2024 (Irish national sf convention), Dublin, Ireland
Conflux 18: Missions & Quests, Canberra, Australia
CONFelicity (relaxacon), Bloomington, Minnesota, USA
AuthorCon IV (books), St. Louis, Missouri, USA
FilkCONtinental (music), Wernigerode, Germany
Jewelry City Steampunk Festival, Attleboro, Massachusetts, USA
H-Con the Twentieth: Fractailed Dimensions (anthropomorphic), Erbach, Germany
Furror: Posthumanpol (anthropomorphic), Opole, Poland
Furnavia (anthropomorphic), Kristiansand, Norway
Carolina Furfare: Medieval in the Mountains (anthropomorphic), Hickory, North Carolina, USA
WPAFW 2024 (anthropomorphic), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Adirondacon 7 (gaming), Glens Falls, New York, USA
Arnecon 2 (gaming), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Dragon Fall (gaming), Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, USA
Nuke-Con (gaming), Council Bluffs, Iowa, USA
Game On Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA
Con on the Cob 2024: Eat Your Vegetables (gaming), Richfield, Ohio, USA
SydCon 2024 (gaming), North Ryde, Australia
KamCon ‘24 (gaming), Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada
Spieltage Essen (boardgames), Essen, Germany
SCG Con Washington DC (collectible card games), Washington, DC, USA
Pittsburgh Gaming Expo (video games), Monroeville, Pennsylvania, USA
Sonic Con UK (Sonic the Hedgehog), Manchester, UK
Kami-Con HAI (anime), Huntsville, Alabama, USA
Anime Fiesta, McAllen, Texas, USA
Anime Ink (anime & tattoos), Richmond, Virginia, USA
Romics (comics), Rome, Italy
áyA Con 2024 (indigenous comics and art), Denver, Colorado, USA
Comic Con Scotland, Edinburgh, UK
Zurich Pop Con, Zurich, Switzerland
Kadabra Con (media), Corpus Christi, Texas, USA
57th Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival, Sitges, Spain
Giganticon (superhero media), Killeen, Texas, USA
Magic Con (fantasy media), Bonn, Germany
Jemcon 2024: Free and Easy in Phoenix (Jem and the Holograms), Phoenix, Arizona, USA
UK PonyCon 2024 (My Little Pony), Nottingham, UK
Coda
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