The policies outlined by APSA Council in its July 28 statement afford the MENA Politics section and all APSA participants some flexibility in responding to the ongoing hospitality workers strike in Los Angeles. These policies also fall short of the call by members of Unite Here Local 11 and over a thousand APSA members to move or cancel the 2023 conference. A significant number of section members were signatories to this request, and many more have indicated to section leadership that they will not participate in the annual meeting at its scheduled venue or will only participate in events held in spaces outside of struck hotels (e.g. the Convention Center). There is no question that the impact on planned events will be considerable.
At this stage, no official MENA Politics section business will occur in Los Angeles. In particular:
- The section business meeting will be held remotely at 12 p.m. (PST) on Friday, Sept 1.
- The section reception, to be co-hosted by POMEPS, has been canceled.
The section currently has 11 panels scheduled over the course of the conference. Given the volume of communication we have received, it is clear that attendance at these panels will be uneven. We offer those who are scheduled to present on MENA Politics section panels the following options:
- Any panelist scheduled to present in the Marriott hotel may request that their panel be relocated to the Convention Center. We encourage panelists in this position to make such a request, given the significant number of conference attendees who will not cross a picket line to enter the Marriott facility.
- Panels that collectively agree to convene remotely may do so. If your panel chooses a remote presentation format (regardless of whether some members are in LA), please complete this form, coordinated by program chairs, so that we can better communicate this information to potential audiences. Please also inform the section chair as soon as possible.
- MENA Politics panels that would prefer to convene in-person at the 2024 meeting can “roll over” their acceptance to next year. Panels that would like to exercise this option should contact the section chair as soon as possible.
At this stage, we have no guarantee from APSA that registration fees will be refunded for those who are choosing not to travel to LA or who will travel to LA but will not collect their badges if doing so requires entering a struck facility. The section will continue to work with other sections and with members of APSA Council to advocate to address this.