February 5, 2009

Holly J. Fujie

President, State Bar of California
Buchalter Nemer
1000 Wilshire Blvd., #1500
Los Angeles, CA  90017

RE: California State Bar Annual Convention/Manchester Grand Hyatt

Dear Ms. Fujie,

Equality California (EQCA) is a non-profit, non-partisan, grassroots-based, statewide advocacy organization whose mission is to achieve the civil rights and equality of all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Californians. We recently learned that the State Bar of California will hold its 2009 Annual Convention at the Manchester Grand Hyatt hotel in San Diego. We respectfully urge the State Bar to reconsider its decision to use this location due to concerns raised by members of the LGBT community and organized labor.

As you may know, Doug Manchester, owner of the Manchester Grand Hyatt, was a leading funder ($125,000) behind Proposition 8, the California ballot initiative that eliminated the right to marry for same-sex couples. Litigation has been filed in the California Supreme Court seeking to overturn this constitutional amendment that threatens the fundamental rights of all minority groups. Many LGBT people and their allies are deeply concerned that the State Bar is scheduled to have its annual meeting at the Manchester Grand Hyatt.

The Manchester Hyatt has also been under scrutiny for reported labor violations. Workers and labor unions have claimed that the Manchester Hyatt forces housekeepers to clean more rooms than housekeepers at other Hyatt hotels. In 2006, Manchester Hyatt housekeepers launched protests against working conditions in the hotel, alleging that their daily room quota had been increased from 17 to 30 rooms per shift. Such workload demands far surpass acceptable industry standards and put workers at risk of injury, strain, and occupational health hazards.

EQCA believes that many members of the State Bar, including LGBT, labor and civil rights attorneys, will decline to attend the Annual Convention if it is held at the Manchester Hyatt, including members who will not cross a San Diego Labor Council sanctioned picket line and who wish to support full LGBT equality. These are some of the very same voices that add the diversity to which the State Bar has pledged commitment (see attached Statement of Diversity Principles). The State Bar should do all that it can to further its own mission and to avoid a circumstance that will decrease the diversity of its annual meeting.

For the foregoing reasons, EQCA joins in solidarity with hotel workers, unions, women and immigrants in urging you to reconsider your decision to hold the

State Bar Annual Convention at the Manchester Grand Hyatt. Should you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at (415) 577-1689.

Sincerely,

Geoff Kors

Executive Director

Equality California

Cc: Officers and Members of the State Bar Board of Governors

Executive Director

            Board of Directors

 Cary Davidson

President

Deb Kinney

Vice President

Xavier Barrera

Treasurer

Tim Hohmeier

                              Secretary

Brandon Brawner

Betsy Butler

Larry Colton

Jody Cole

Larry Colton

Joe Guardarrama

Susan Guinn

Jeff Haber

Mariah Hansen

Dolores Huerta

Rabbi Steven Jacobs

Roslyn Jones

Lloyd Levine

Rev. Abel Lopez

Tom Maddox

Jimmy Nguyen

Jeff Orr

Thom Rollerson

Sal Rosselli

Rick Saputo

Linda Scaparotti

Kathy Spillar

Alan Uphold

Jacques Whitfield

Northern California