Posted in: Comics, Conventions, Events, Pop Culture, san diego comic con | Tagged: cbldf, comixology, Hilton Bayfront, san diego comic con, sdcc

Hilton Bayfront Staff Strike As SDCC Begins, CBLDF Moves Art Auction

The Hilton Bayfront in San Diego is the hotel closest to Hall H of the San Diego Convention Center and is popular for guests, attendees and events through the San Diego Comic-Con which began today. Well, it appears that the staff of the Hilton Bayfront has gone on strike just as San Diego Comic-Con begins, and the hotel itself is, aptly, covered with an ad for American Horror Story.

Local media reported that talks stalled yesterday when negotiators for both sides were unable to reach an agreement on pay, parking and other work-related issues. The hotel has 600 unionized employees, who have been without a contract since November, and last week voted to authorise a strike if progress was not made. A statement from the Hilton Bayfront reads, "We are continuing to welcome guests and have contingency plans in place to ensure operations run as smoothly as possible… We are confident that the hotel and the union will reach a fair agreement that is beneficial to both our valued Team Members and to our hotel."

As a direct result, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, or CBLDF, has stated that they refuse to cross a picket line. And so they have changed their plans for an original comic book art auction originally scheduled at the Hilton Bayfront for this Saturday, July 23rd. They have now moved the auction to Thursday, July 21. It will now be combined with the ComiXology/CBLDF Welcome Party already being held at Westgate's Terrace Under the Stars from 8 pm. The event was originally going to display the art ahead of the auction, but now it will be hosting the auction as well, and I have just updated the Bleeding Cool Final SCDCC Party List to reflect the changes. How other bodies, including San Diego Comic-Con, will react to the news, as programming was due to begin there tomorrow, is unknown. And how it will affect guests, vendors, and attendees at the show remains to be seen. The Indigo Ballroom at the Hilton Bayfront hosts many events through the show, including Friday night's Eisner Awards ceremony, and media companies conduct many of their events and interviews there.

As for the art auction in its new location, the CBLDF states "the event is free to members with a suggested donation for non-members. The event is open to all — you do not need a Con badge to attend! Entry is free to members with a suggested donation for non-members." A gallery of the pieces up for auction can be found here.  You can bid for the pieces online by sending bids to auctions@cbldf.org with [AUCTION] in the subject line and the following information:

• name
• email
• phone number
• item number
• artist name(s)
• HIGHEST donation you would be willing to bid

Don't forget to put [AUCTION] in the subject line. If the high bid on the auction floor is below your highest bid, your final bid will be 10% higher than the last highest bid on the floor up to the amount of your highest bid. All bids must be delivered to auctions@cbldf.org by 6 pm PT tomorrow, July the 21st to be eligible.

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