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Former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will not hold her book talk with Rep. Rosa DeLauro at the Omni New Haven Hotel on Sunday afternoon as originally planned, because of unresolved contract negotiations in the wake of a four-day strike by the hotel’s workers.

The high-powered pair of Democrats will instead discuss Pelosi’s new book, “The Art of Power,” at Southern Connecticut State University’s John Lyman Center for the Performing Arts.

The new location appeared on Wednesday on the websites of SCSU and RJ Julia Booksellers, which is organizing the event. The Madison-based bookstore announced the switch in a Wednesday evening email blast, which called Pelosi “the most powerful woman in American political history.”

RJ Julia spokesperson Liz Bartek wrote in a statement that the venue change occurred “due to ongoing agreement negotiations between UNITE HERE Local 217 union leaders and the Omni New Haven Hotel.”

The Omni’s 120 unionized hospitality workers began a strike early last Thursday morning, after 10 months of fruitless contract negotiations with hotel management. DeLauro, who has represented Connecticut’s New Haven–centered Third Congressional District since 1991, visited the Temple Street picket line on Friday morning to show solidarity with the striking workers.

Omni employees returned to work on Monday morning, as contract talks continued. Local 217 and Omni management had not reached a resolution by Wednesday when RJ Julia publicly changed the venue four days before Pelosi’s book talk.

“Strike issues have not been resolved,” read a statement from UNITE HERE Local 217 late Wednesday afternoon. “Negotiations are ongoing, and more strikes are possible at any time should issues remain unresolved. The union urges guests not to eat, sleep, or meet at any hotel that is on strike.”

The News could not immediately reach Omni management for comment. 

Pelosi, the first female speaker of the House, who stepped down from her second stint in the role in January 2023 after two decades leading House Democrats, released “The Art of Power” on Aug. 6. She has since embarked on a nationwide book tour. Simon & Schuster, the book’s publisher, describes it as an account of the author’s “transformation from housewife to House Speaker.” 

DeLauro, who is running for reelection in November, has been Pelosi’s colleague in the House of Representatives for 33 years and a longtime friend. The duo’s onstage conversation is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on Sunday.

General admission tickets for the event cost $75 and include a copy of the $30 hardcover volume. The difference, Bartek told the News before the venue switch, would go toward the Omni’s hefty space rental fees.

She declined to share the financial arrangements for the relocation, but wrote, “The Omni has been very accommodating throughout for which we are grateful.”

As of Wednesday, SCSU students, faculty and staff could purchase $20 tickets that do not include a book. The Lyman Center’s main auditorium seats 1,500 people.

The center is located at 501 Crescent St, just over two miles from the Omni.