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)
