As the 2008 Labor Notes conference banquet was beginning 200-300 chanting SEIU members and staffers rushed through the side door of the hotel, nearest the banquet hall. The doors had apparently been opened from inside by SEIU staffers attending the conference (see below). Most were wearing the signature SEIU purple T-shirts; some carried signs denouncing the California Nurses Association.
About 15 conference participants were acting as security at the banquet hall doors. When the chanting protesters entered, waving noisemakers, they and others quickly formed a double line in front of the doors, linking arms to block the way. Some participants were thrown to the ground by larger SEIUers. One protestor broke through the first line and, finding himself trapped between the two lines, flailed wildly. Former Labor Notes office manager Dianne Feeley, a retiree from American Axle, was pushed and fell, cutting her head, and was treated at an emergency room. Protesters continued to try to advance toward the doors, some nonviolently and others more aggressively.
It is important to note that SEIU’s planned disruption would have frightened and intimidated hundreds of union members who are not party to their dispute with CNA. In the crowded banquet hall, in which there was barely room between tables; in the panic people undoubtedly would have been injured. As it was, the entire waitstaff, members of UNITE HERE Local 24, fled. We are grateful to the conference-goers whose quick thinking managed to keep the protest contained.
From: Labor Notes
3 comments:
Haven spoken with persons attending the conference, you have reported a half truth regarding the events and the intent. Apparently this meets your requirements. Who needs facts when there is a inflammatory story to push.
"Haven"
Really?
Haven you learnted Inglish?
SEIU Goons... Gotta love it.
Yes, I have spoken to someone who attended the conference. SEIU acted like the goon squad it is.
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