Interesting People mailing list archives
IP: Borders and Moore revisited
From: Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 08:58:25 -0500
Date: Fri, 22 Nov 1996 08:14:11 -0500 From: Robin Gaster <rgaster () access digex net> To: farber () central cis upenn edu FYI. This is Broder's response to the Moore accusations. I should add that I personally have strong pro-union sympathies, and simply wanted to see whether there was another side to the story. Judge for yourself. -- Robin Gaster Tel. 202-986-4781 Publisher, convergence.d&t Fax 202-588-9685 President, North Atlantic Research Inc. 1777 T St.NW http://www.north-atlantic.com Washington DC 20009 ____________________________ Dear Robin Gaster, Thanks for your e-mail, and for the chance to respond. I can indeed comment: simply stated, the allegations against Borders are untrue. In response to Michael Moore's article, Joe Gable--the first manager of the riginal Borders--has written a letter to the editors of The Nation. I've attached a copy for you to read. Thanks again for writing, and feel free to contact me anytime. Sincerely, Peter Blackshear Michael and Me Although I did not formally meet Michael Moore until late this summer when he spoke at a book signing event sponsored by the Ann Arbor Borders Books & Music, I remember the days twenty years ago when he would drop off copies of his publication, the Michigan Voice, for us to distribute. As Michael himself says, "the original Borders was a store that actively championed freedom of expression . . . and would carry my paper when other establishments would not". I was the manager of that store; and though the two owners, Tom and Louis Borders, might be somewhat hard pressed to recognize themselves in Michael+s New York Times+ description as "two hippies", it is certainly true to say that we were all motivated to create the kind of bookstore in which everyone -- even Michael -- could take pride. I respected his publishing efforts and politics, and was personally acquainted with at least one of the writers for the Voice. It was because of that respect for his views that I agreed to meet him on the streets of Ann Arbor -- the cameras were not rolling -- before the booksigning event. At that time I was still the manager of the Ann Arbor Borders, though I would soon take a different job with the company. Basically, I wanted to assure him that he would not be compromising his politics or his pro-union position by speaking at Borders, in spite of what he might have heard about the events surrounding our Philadelphia store. I told him that Borders had never fired anyone for union activity, and if that were indeed the case, I would have resigned from the company. He told me there was no problem; we talked for a few minutes about the old store; and he proceeded to speak at a well-attended event (over 1,000 people) at which he spoke of the Ann Arbor store as "the best bookstore in the world".
From that point Michael+s relationship with Borders went rapidly
downhill, as did my respect for the integrity of Michael Moore. Although I do not intend to offer a point by point rebuttal of Michael+s allegations in his Nation article, his fast and loose play with the truth does merit a response. First, Philadelphia. Miriam Fried, the martyred poster girl of the union organizers, was not fired for union activity, and Anne Kubek (who, incidentally, is the vice-president of human resources, not labor relations) had never given Michael permission to bring the picketers into the store. What Michael fails to mention is that in the course of his talk he trashed Borders and urged people to buy their books elsewhere. Then on to Manhattan, where word of this circus performance raised legitimate security issues in the light of Port Authority+s concerns regarding large crowds in the small, second floor events area. For that reason the talk was changed to a signing only: not to censure Michael Moore, but to keep customers moving into and out of the area in a continuous line. The "two Borders+ executives who had flown in from Michigan to stop (him) from speaking" happened to be two Borders+ employees from the national events group who were in Manhattan to help out at store events in the New York area. Finally, Des Moines -- I won+t mention Ft. Lauderdale, because that event had never even been scheduled -- where Michael+s version of events requires an imaginative leap of truly epic proportions. Borders had agreed to sell books at the event and contribute a percentage of the proceeds to support the Iowa Shares Fundraiser, a kind of United Way drive sponsored by the AFL-CIO. Because the Des Moines store+s manager anticipated that Michael and/or other media might be there with cameras rolling, she did not want to put employees in the position of being spokespeople for the company. So store managers worked the book table and gave the other employees free tickets to attend the event. The regional director was indeed at this event, but hardly to "spy on employees". His companion, the so-called "union-busting +consultant+ hired by Borders", is a figment of someone+s overripe and heated imagination. Michael Moore is not "banned by Borders" and is of course free to pontificate on whatever cause he pleases and to donate his money where he will. I do find it ironic, however, that this crusader for justice is so willing to commit such a flagrant injustice against a store and a company which has supported him during these many years. I also find it amusing that this self-styled Mr. Everyman is so obsessed with his place on the best sellers list that he worries about us "hiding (his book) in the humor section" or "underreporting sales to the New York Times". No Michael, we have not and do not fire people for union activity. No Michael, we do not spy on our employees or fly executives around the country accompanied by security goons to strong arm you at events. No Michael, we do not engage in censorship. The fact of the matter, Michael, is that the only thing which has been "downsized" in your self-promotional efforts is the truth. And I guess that is my fear: that in the future the truth about the company where I have worked for 22 years will again be held hostage to someone else+s ideology or belief system. It is no secret to even the casual observer of the national news that John Sweeney and the AFL-CIO have made retail organizing their top priority to gain new members. The shrinking manufacturing base and erosion of union membership over the years has made this a necessity. But again, I find it ironic that Borders is a prime target of this effort given a payscale and benefits package which is unrivalled by most other retailers. I am not anti-union, but I do not think that unions and the Borders+ culture would make a good fit. I am proud of this company in spite of its problems and mistakes. I am proud of my fellow employees and respect their right to organize and to speak their opinions. But I also want the truth and not the debased intellectual currency of some preconceived agenda promoted by the aggrieved, self-promoting bombast of Michael Moore. Joe Gable 19 November 1996 _____________________
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