Positioning himself on the side of workers, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has said that if hotel operators don't end their lockout by Tuesday afternoon, he will call for a boycott of the 14 hotels involved in the dispute. Newsom has requested a 90-day cooling off period that would allow the locked-out workers to return to their jobs while talks are continuing. A key issue holding up negotiations between the two sides is the length of the new contract. The unions wants a two-year contract that will expire at the same time as their counterparts in other major cites in an attempt to increase bargaining leverage.
See "San Francisco Mayor Seeks to End Lockout", The New York Times, October 25, 2004