Former President
Bill Clinton may cross a picket line at San Diego's
Manchester Grand Hyatt hotel on Sunday, despite union
officials and gay rights activists urging him to stay
away from the hotel.
A boycott of the
hotel started in July 2008 when owner Doug Manchester
donated $125,000 to the campaign to end marriage equality in
California. Additionally, the housekeepers at the
hotel face "onerous workloads and have to clean more
rooms than housekeepers at any other Hyatt hotels in
this area," according to an open letter by organizers.
Letter writers, including activists Cleve Jones and
Fred Karger, asked Clinton to move his speech to
another location.
A Clinton
spokesperson said Thursday that he still plans to speak
before the International Franchise Association,
according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
"He's obviously
sympathetic to this cause," Clinton spokesman Matthew
McKenna said in the article. "I don't think you can name a
leader in the world who has done more to advance gay and
lesbian issues."
McKenna added
that Clinton campaigned against Proposition 8 and that if
Manchester himself had extended the invitation, he wouldn't
have come.
Since the boycott
started, a handful of organizations have changed their
plans to hold events at the hotel, including the American
Association of Law Schools and the San Diego Board of
Realtors. (Michelle Garcia, Advocate.com)
