Small Press Expo Responds to Convention Center Boycott
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The Small Press Expo has issued a statement to the public that it will not participate in the boycott of the Montgomery County Conference Center where they have staged their expo for the last 20 years. The local hotel, restaurant, and casino workers employees unions called for a boycott last May to protest the omission of a collective bargaining clause in the contract between the county who owns the conference center and the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel who is contracted to manage the facility.
According to the statement, SPX has a contract with the facility through 2029. If SPX cancelled their contract, the cancellation fees would bankrupt the organization. They also maintain that even if they could weather the cancellation penalties, relocating to another venue would increase the cost of tables, badges and hotel rooms by more than 30%.
From the SPX statement:
We recognize that some will be disappointed by that decision, but we believe it is important to be honest about the commitments we have already made rather than imply we can take actions that are not realistically available to us.
Our inability to join this particular boycott should not be understood as indifference to the issues at stake. Montgomery County is our home and we wish to see it prosper for those who live and work here every day. We continue to support the rights of workers to organize and to seek fair wages, safe working conditions, and dignity on the job, and we hope the parties are able to reach a fair agreement as quickly as possible.
The boycott is supported by the national AFL-CIO.
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