IP: Borders and Moore revisited

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

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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