No, I don’t mean the manual hours I put in to addressing the invitations or working on the website. I’m referring to the labor conditions for the workers at our reception venue.
You see, I’m a member of a graduate student labor union, and our current contract expires at midnight tonight. Tomorrow, unless something miraculous happens, I will be working a picket line.
This has gotten me thinking about the labor conditions of the people involved in the wedding. The photographer and musicians are self-employed, and the minister works at the church. But the workers at the reception, from the servers to the people washing dishes to the people checking in our guests at the desk?
They’re not unionized, because the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel is not a union hotel. Nope, no Unite Here here. One of my younger brothers has been fairly active in labor organizing, and actually worked at the (unionized) Renaissance Hotel in St. Louis for a bit. (Maybe I’ll ask him to share his opinions about bridal parties in a guest post.) He’s got a lot of stories to tell, and I feel like I’ve learned quite a bit from his experiences.
With my contract expiring, it has made me realize how lucky I am that I have a union that looks out for my rights, and is the only reason I have decent health care. Those that are working to make our wedding everything we hope it to be have a right to health care and a living wage as well.
If I knew a year ago what I know now, I would have restricted my wedding reception and room block to a unionized hotel. Curious about yours? You can check out Unite Here’s Hotel list right here.
Thanks for this post! Part of my job is arranging accommodations for my traveling bosses, so I’ll keep this list of union hotels bookmarked - I don’t know why this didn’t occur to me before.
Good luck on your contract negotiations. As a grad student (married to another grad student!) I support your struggle.
I know where you teach at! Hehe only because I am an alumni and remember the last walkout they had! Good luck with that, I know that the instructors work super hard there and deserve what they’re asking for!
You don’t, by any chance, happen to work at the lovely U of M Ann Arbor?
Our GSI’s are going on strike tomorrow, and after reading your blog as a total stranger - I thought it would be a funny coincidence. Good luck with the strike!
As a waitress and a caterer, I understand how tips can make your day, sometimes even your week, and so I am budgeting to tip all of my vendors very well. Based on performance of course!
i 2nd julieulie….i had no idea there were grad student unions!
well, my fi is no longer a grad student, but he’s suffering pretty bad as a post doc.
is there an organization for that???
Yup, there are definitely grad student unions, working for health care benefits, fair treatment from professors and a living wage. If anyone’s interested in more details about it, feel free to PM me or shoot me an email at dahlia@weddingbee.com.
GetMarrie4Less, I’m not sure about post-docs, but sometimes lecturers are unionized.
Thanks for bringing this issue up and good luck with negotiations!
Great post Miss Dahlia!
I come from a long line of blue collar union workers and I think people forget how important labor rights can be.
I think it is great that you are looking into this issue. There is a lot of talk about ecochic weddings around now, but lots of people forget the… people! What a great way to be responsible.
With a sister, a best friend and a husband in the education field, I continue to be amazed at how poorly compensated our educators are– ESPECIALLY grad students. When mr beanchar was a TA, he basically ran the class, did all the grading and got paid about $3 an hour for it. And he still had to pay tuition (though he attended no classes) and for the crappy “health care.” Gah!
Glad you have a union, Dahlia. Good luck!
Thanks for the interesting post - I hope the strike didn’t last too long. I wanted to suggest the website http://www.ourjobsmatter.org - which talks about the unionized workers who make suits and tuxedos for Moores (Canada) and Men’s Wearhouse (US) and who are fighting to keep their jobs (their factory is in Montreal). The company wants to outsource the work to who knows where…
And even more interesting for brides to be –
as part of the campaign their union, also UNITE HERE, has a contest to win $500 towards your honeymoon if you submit an entry which describes how you can make your wedding environmentally-friendly and fair trade.
http://www.ourjobsmatter.org/bridal.php
Ms. Dahlia, Detroit/Cleveland
Age and Occupation: 24, PhD Student
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, IT System Administrator
Engagement Date: December 31, 2006
Wedding Date: May 2008
Blogging Since: September 19, 2007
Venue: United Methodist Cathedral & historic downtown hotel in Cleveland
About Me: I enjoy cooking, dancing and swimming. I am a geek and apply game theory to my everyday life. Winter is my favorite time of year, especially when spent curled up with good coffee and a book by Madeleine L'Engle.
Hold up. Graduate student labor union? What’s the deal with this? You mean we have rights? This is news to me! I thought we were slave labor! More information, please!