Update: Message from APSA Presidents

AUGUST 18, 2023  — We write to follow up on our message from August 4. We would like to reiterate some key points for those of you preparing to travel to Los Angeles. Please continue to check the Planning Area & FAQs, which is frequently updated.

All APSA panels and other official events have been moved into the Los Angeles Convention Center (LACC). The LACC is not subject to a labor action. 

Some attendees may have reservations in hotels that are subject to potential picket lines. Please check the planning page for a list of these hotels, as well as those that are not subject to union activity. Individual members are responsible for arranging their own accommodations and changing them if they desire to do so. 

In the matter of just a few short weeks, APSA staff accomplished the unprecedented task of relocating hundreds of panels and other events out of the J.W. Marriott, as UNITE HERE Local 11 requested at the end of their July 19 letter. This letter did not specify that the union was requesting relocation out of the city of Los Angeles, simply relocation. Moving to an entirely online format in such a short time was not possible. Cancellation would have cost many of our members, especially those at vulnerable career stages, the opportunity to showcase their work and to network. It would have also cost our organization millions of dollars in cancellation fees for non-struck venues, returned registration fees, and payments to vendors other than hotels. These costs amount to, at a minimum, a quarter of APSA’s annual operating budget and perhaps substantially more. They would have led to staff layoffs and undermined basic services and functions. 

We look forward to seeing those of you who will be in LA for the meeting, wish the best for those of you who have moved your events online, and hope to see those who have decided to cancel at future APSA events. We are working to learn from this experience so that it is not repeated in the future. 

Lisa Martin
APSA President

Mark E. Warren
APSA President-Elect

John Ishiyama
APSA Past President