So, as I said last week, the Young Democrats of America had their Winter Conference at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California.
Friday Night was the kickoff. It was a fun opportunity to get to know some of the Utah Delegation better, as well as meet young Democrats from other parts of the country.
Saturday Morning, we had classes on a variety of subjects. The classes I attended (and can now say I am an expert in) were on working with the media (or, Press Releases 101) and Fundraising 101. Then it was time for lunch. The lunch was sponsored by the Writers Guild of America (WGA). It included a panel discussion about the strike with three writers and the president of the union about what was involved with cunducting the strike.
After lunch, we attended Campaign Boot Camp, which was run by Christine Pelosi, daughter of Nancy Pelosi. We discussed some of the basics of running a campaign, either as the candidate or as a member of the staff. I bought a copy of her book, and it is proving to be a good read. We morphed right into a segment where we discussed some unique ways to talk to our peers about the issues. A key point on this was that most young people (18-35) have one or two issues that are important to them. What we then need to do is translate that commitment to an issue into voting for a candidate.
Then came the best part of the weekend. The union representing the maids, bellhops and bartenders at the Disney Hotels has been working without a contract since February 1. The hotel management has been really lowballing the union in negotiations.
When the staff had a shift change at 4:30, the staff came outside and we held a march with UNITE HERE Local 681 against the hotel. While we were marching outside, several members of the YDA Labor Caucus, including Nick and McKay Holland of Utah, attempted to take a card signed by YDA attendees supporting the workers to the Hotel Management.
I'll have pictures to post in the next couple of days....
-Bob
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