Tag: Culinary Union

Backed by the Culinary Union, National Anti-Women’s Violence Group Urges New York to Uphold Ban of MMA

A national anti-violence group, the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence sent a four-page letter today to New York State Assemblymen and women today, urging them to oppose the legalization in their state based on a weak argument that unfortunate comments made by fighters and UFC president Dana White in the past promote violence against “women, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people” in particular. The group also claims that the UFC basically encourages it’s fighters to talk like sailors.

Now, I’m as against some of the bad PR moves certain fighters have made with their loose lips and lapses of judgment the past few years, but I have yet to hear anyone who has ever cashed a UFC paycheck threaten to beat a homosexual, a woman or someone who has undergone a sex change. Using a gay slur against a straight person, although reprehensible, is not intended to be offensive to the group it ultimately defends, the same as a fighter calling another fighter “a bitch” is not done to offend female dogs. The difference is the SPCA has better things to do than write letters all day.

If you notice, the crux of the NCDAV’s argument hinges on info they were given by a group called UnfitforChildren.org, which is a front for the Culinary Union — the labor group embroiled in a legal battle with the Fertitta-Owned Station Casinos. The head of the Union is even CC’ed on the letter.

Any decent politician having done his or her homework should be able to see through the thin veil that the CU is hiding behind while it attempts to harm the Fertitta’s *other* business, but then again how many trustworthy politicians do you know?

If I were the UFC, I’d be making some rebuttal-ads similar to the political ones we see around election time exposing the union’s dirty tactics. Until then I’m sure we’ll have plenty of do-good groups nobody has ever heard of like the NCDSV popping up with their soap boxes to tell people what they shouldn’t be allowed to watch or do. Between sips of jasmine tea and blogging about freecycling, these mother hens do all they can to make sure that they browbeat everyone who will listen into condemning anything that they find even remotely offensive, lest they be labeled unsympathetic to women or proponents of violence against them.

The truth is, they probably are sick of their husbands watching UFC on Saturday nights and want someone to take them to the new Rachel McAdams movie.

Anyway, if you have the stomach for it, you can read the entire useless letter after the jump.

A national anti-violence group, the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence sent a four-page letter today to New York State Assemblymen and women today, urging them to oppose the legalization in their state based on a weak argument that unfortunate comments made by fighters and UFC president Dana White in the past promote violence against “women, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people” in particular. The group also claims that the UFC basically encourages it’s fighters to talk like sailors.

Now, I’m as against some of the bad PR moves certain fighters have made with their loose lips and lapses of judgment the past few years, but I have yet to hear anyone who has ever cashed a UFC paycheck threaten to beat a homosexual, a woman or someone who has undergone a sex change. Using a gay slur against a straight person, although reprehensible, is not intended to be offensive to the group it ultimately defends, the same as a fighter calling another fighter “a bitch” is not done to offend female dogs. The difference is the SPCA has better things to do than write letters all day.

If you notice, the crux of the NCDAV’s argument hinges on info they were given by a group called UnfitforChildren.org, which is a front for the Culinary Union — the labor group embroiled in a legal battle with the Fertitta-Owned Station Casinos. The head of the Union is even CC’ed on the letter.

Any decent politician having done his or her homework should be able to see through the thin veil that the CU is hiding behind while it attempts to harm the Fertitta’s *other* business, but then again how many trustworthy politicians do you know?

If I were the UFC, I’d be making some rebuttal-ads similar to the political ones we see around election time exposing the union’s dirty tactics. Until then I’m sure we’ll have plenty of do-good groups nobody has ever heard of like the NCDSV popping up with their soap boxes to tell people what they shouldn’t be allowed to watch or do. Between sips of jasmine tea and blogging about freecycling, these mother hens do all they can to make sure that they browbeat everyone who will listen into condemning anything that they find even remotely offensive, lest they be labeled unsympathetic to women or proponents of violence against them.

The truth is, they probably are sick of their husbands watching UFC on Saturday nights and want someone to take them to the new Rachel McAdams movie.

Anyway, if you have the stomach for it, you can read the entire useless letter below:

Dear State Assembly Member:
We are writing you to raise concerns about renewed efforts by Zuffa LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), to legalize cage fighting in the State of New York.

You are no doubt aware that the State of New York banned cage fighting in 1997. We urge you to continue to uphold the ban on cage fighting, given that the UFC, the largest promoter of cage fighting events in the U.S., has failed to demonstrate that it is willing to ensure its fighters behave in a socially responsible way, even as the company expressly markets its fights and fighters to children.

We believe that the UFC contributes to a culture of violence against women, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. Children, in particular, should not be exposed to the homophobic, misogynistic and violent language that has been permitted by the UFC.

Please see the following website, UFC = Unfit For Children (www.UnfitForChildren.org), for more information. Some examples of anti-gay and anti-women statements by people associated with the UFC include the following:

• In videos, UFC light heavyweight Quinton “Rampage” Jackson repeatedly urged Japanese fans to repeat an anti-gay slur.1 The fans, who do not appear to understand English, repeated the anti-gay slur at Jackson’s urging. In one video, Jackson instructed a Japanese man to say, “Goodbye, I want you to piss on my face.”

• Recently, a UFC fighter taunted his opponent by threatening to act like former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, who has been charged with 52 counts of molesting boys. UFC fighter Rashad Evans said, “Cause I’m gonna put those hands on you worse than that dude did them other kids at Penn State.”

• In November, UFC light heavyweight fighter Forrest Griffin joked about rape on Twitter. “Rape is the new missionary,” Griffin tweeted. After a woman objected to the tweet, Griffin tweeted back, “Keep it to yourself nobody cares,” according to the Huffington Post.4

• In an expletive-filled video rant posted on YouTube.com, UFC president Dana White used an anti-gay slur, saying, “Whoever gave you that quote is a [expletive] and a [expletive] faggot and a [expletive] liar and everything else.”5 He also uttered the “F” word a total of 34 times, the “S” word 4 times, and referred to a female sports journalist as a “[expletive] dumb bitch.”6

• Joe Rogan, who does commentary for televised UFC events, recently used a homophobic slur while referring to a MMA blogger.7 Rogan also to referred to an MMA blogger as a part of the female anatomy. According to sportswriter Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports, Rogan then wrote on a blog, “Never did I imagine that so many people would get their panties in a bunch about the use of the word [expletive] to describe a female blogger.

•In a recent UFC promotional video, Michael Bisping, a UFC middleweight fighter and coach on the reality television show “The Ultimate Fighter,” screamed an anti-gay slur at his opponent.9 In addition, Bisping was quoted by ESPN saying of an opponent, “He broke rank for a moment, but other than that he was my bitch and he’ll be my bitch on Saturday night.”10

• In a radio interview last year, UFC heavyweight Frank Mir said of his opponent Brock Lesnar, “I hate who he is as a person. I want to break his neck in the ring. I want him to be the first person that dies due to Octagon-related injuries.”11
? According to the Los Angeles Times, “Rampage” Jackson shouted “every conceivable gay slur” at a movie crew member of “The A-Team” who had called him a homophobic epithet.12 He was also quoted in the article saying, “Acting is kind of gay. It makes you soft.”

• In August, UFC heavyweight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was quoted saying that he would not train with gay students. He was quoted in USA Today saying, “What if the gay person has that malice of having physical contact with me, of staying there grappling? I would have no problems having a gay student in my academy, but I would rather not train with him.”

This kind of hateful rhetoric is not acceptable in America, where we are teaching our children to respect those who are different and where we are working to stop bullying in our schools and communities.

Remarkably, we have yet to find evidence that any of the UFC athletes identified in this letter have been disciplined by the UFC or its owner, Zuffa LLC. By contrast, other professional sports organizations have taken a hard stance against anti-gay conduct and have held athletes accountable through suspensions and/or fines when athletes have used homophobic epithets.

In fact, UFC president Dana White recently dismissed concerns regarding homophobic speech by people associated with the organization. In an interview, White said, “I don’t deal with the holier-than-thou, uh, bullshit. I don’t. We do the best we can do.” He also said, “How do you really think that we can possibly police 375 fighters and try to control everything they say?”

This month, a group of mothers and survivors of sexual assault in UFC’s home state of Nevada called on the UFC to stop tolerating offensive language and adopt an ethical code of conduct. The UFC has not responded to their demand.

The UFC has yet to demonstrate to the public that they are capable of promoting socially responsible behavior by its fighters. As a result, we strongly encourage you to reject any legislation that would enable this company to hold cage fighting events in the State of New York.

Respectfully,

Deborah D. Tucker Executive Director

cc: NCDSV Board of Directors Michele McKeon, New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence Joanne Zannoni, New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault Stacey Sarver, WomensLaw.org Chris Serres, Culinary Workers Union, Local 226

Culinary Union and Perez Hilton Call UFC Anti-Gay…Anderson Silva Not Included

Source: Bloody Elbow: In on-going efforts to battle with the UFC promotion, the Culinary Union issued this letter to the promotion’s biggest sponsor, the Anheuser-Busch corporation. The letter pleas with Anheuser-Busch to drop their sponsorship.

Source: Bloody Elbow:

In on-going efforts to battle with the UFC promotion, the Culinary Union issued this letter to the promotion’s biggest sponsor, the Anheuser-Busch corporation. The letter pleas with Anheuser-Busch to drop their sponsorship with the UFC promotion and cites examples of fighters and UFC president, Dana White spouting anti-gay remarks:

In recent videos, UFC light heavyweight Quinton “Rampage” Jackson repeatedly urged Japanese fans to repeat an anti-gay slur.’ The fans, who do not appear to understand English, repeated the anti-gay slur at Jackson’s urging. In one video, Jackson instructed a Japanese man to say, “Goodbye, I want you to piss on my face.”

In an expletive-filled video rant posted on YouTube.com, UFC president Dana White used an anti-gay slur, saying, “Whoever gave you that quote is a [expletive] and a [expletive] faggot and a [expletive] liar and everything else. He also uttered the “F” word a total of 34 times, the “S” word 4 times, and referred to a female sports journalist as a “[expletive] dumb bitch.”

According to the Los Angeles Times, “Rampage” Jackson shouted “every conceivable gay slur” at a movie crew member of “The A-Team” who had called him a homophobic epithet. He was also quoted in the article saying, “Acting is kind of gay. It makes you soft.”

In a recent UFC promotional video, Michael Bisping, a UFC middleweight fighter and coach on the reality television show “The Ultimate Fighter,” screamed an anti-gay slur at his opponent. In a media conference call, Bisping tried to. smear an opposing-coach. on “The Ultimate Fighter” by saying that his opponent had a “gay chiropractor” on his staff.”

Joe Rogan, who does commentary for televised UFC events, recently used a homophobic slur while referring to a MMA blogger.’ Rogan also to referred to an MMA blogger as a part of the female anatomy. According to sportswriter Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports, Rogan then wrote on a blog, “Never did I imagine that so many people would get their panties in a bunch about the use of the word [expletive] to describe a female blogger.”

In August, UFC heavyweight Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was quoted saying that he would not train with gay students. He was quoted in USA Today saying, “What if the gay person has that malice of having physical contact with me, of staying there grappling? I would have no problems having a gay student in my academy, but I would rather not train with him.”

We request that you stop advertising Bud Light during UFC events until the UFC’s owners make it evident to the public that it no longer tolerates homophobic behavior, and adopts and enforces a code of ethical conduct that ensures that participants in the UFC act in accordance with commonly accepted standards of decency.

And to offer pure legitimacy to the Culinary Union’s claim, openly gay celebrity gossip blogger, Perez Hilton added:

“Ugh! We are not happy to hear about this.”

But I don’t necessarily buy into these claims, ’cause last time I checked, both Dana White and Anderson Silva showed clear advocacy of their friendship with Justin Bieber who I’m pretty sure made her acting debut in this film.

Culinary Union Asks FTC to Probe Zuffa for Anti-Competitive Business Practices

Source: Las Vegas Review Journal Zuffa and more notably the Fertittas have been forced into a battle with the Las Vegas Culinary Union Local 226, and oppositions have heated up as the Culinary 226 has.

Source: Las Vegas Review Journal

Zuffa and more notably the Fertittas have been forced into a battle with the Las Vegas Culinary Union Local 226, and oppositions have heated up as the Culinary 226 has sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission calling for an investigation into what they believe are violations of Anti-Trust laws on the part of Zuffa.

In the past year, we have learned that Culinary workers have protested the Fertitta owned Station Casinos (which is a non-union gaming company) in an effort to put a stop to their “anti-union campaign.” The union has openly protested that Station Casinos prevents and interferes in their employees’ rights to organize.

Already added to these troubles, Zuffa and more vocally, Dana White believes it is the culinary union [in New York] that is halting the legalization of MMA in NY. Dana had said to MMA Weekly:

“It has nothing to do with Mixed Martial Arts, of all things, it’s the Culinary Union that’s keeping us out of New York. They’re powerful guys here. The economic impact we have on a city is huge.”

“This time we got all the way up, got all the votes all the way (through various committees), but they never put us on the floor to try and get the votes. They are spending union member dues to fight the UFC from coming (to New York).”

And today in Las Vegas, in what looks like it could have been motivated by their union feud, the Director of Culinary Research, Ken Liu wrote to the FTC:

“Zuffa has preserved and strengthened this dominant market position through exclusionary conduct by refusing to co-promote events, as well as anticompetitive contractual restraints that severely limit a professional athlete’s freedom of movement,”

Yahoo! Sports sites further examples from the Culinary 226′s complaints in the letter:

– The champion’s clause, which automatically renews a contract for UFC champions.

— Merchandising rights that give Zuffa rights to a fighter’s image in perpetuity. This clause is what Jon Fitch had a problem with when he was briefly cut from the organization.

— Restraints on athlete’s mobility and pay, meaning that by buying up the marketplace. Zuffa can keep a fighter from engaging the marketplace for fair pay.

The Las Vegas Review Journal notes: The union cites a 2008 independent equities research firm report which estimates Zuffa owns 80 to 90 percent of the MMA market.

In recent months Zuffa has purchased their biggest competitor, the Strikeforce promotion, which looks to be disbanding and who’s television contract with Showtime Network will expire in 2012. Also this year, Zuffa has made a huge beneficial impact with their fighters by providing health insurance, which is not currently offered by any other MMA promotion.