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Union Picketing Could Effect McCormick Place Trade Show
#1
I am a union carpenter and have stood in line in the early 80's waiting to get called to work at a trade show, but was informed by a trade show veteran that most of the work force was made up of double-dipping Chicago firemen and cops. Kind of like what we see in our own community today. I was disappointed that my Union, Local 1, covering the north side of Chicago to McCormick place, would allow this. Life can be very disappointing and then you begin to think for yourself. I think my labor organization is a professional endeavour of men, however, I think sometimes they are influenced by politicians and if this doesn't stop we union members are also teaparty members and we are going to have to kick a little ass to bring some sanity back to the market place. We love our careers and want to be competitive, but right now, we feel as powerless as the average voter. The old(experienced) carpenters will eventually be heard.

Union picketing could affect McCormick Place trade show

Tribune reporter
A small picket line of construction workers Saturday caused minor disruptions to a major trade show at McCormick Place, though convention officials remained optimistic that the show would come to a smooth conclusion.

Dozens of union carpenters carried signs announcing "strike" as they picketed McCormick Place on the last day of the International Manufacturing Technology Show, one of the first events in what state and city officials hope is the start of a trade show renaissance that could stimulate billions of dollars in spending in the city.

The job action was spurred by an overhaul of the convention center's procedures for enticing trade show business. The Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters has filed a federal lawsuit that seeks to block the state law containing the rules overhaul, which gave exhibitors freedom to do more work on their own booths and imposed more flexible union rules that cut crew sizes and overtime. That suit is still pending.


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Word started circulating on the trade show floor as the event closed that members of other unions might not cross the picket line. The teardown started Saturday and is scheduled to continue through the week, but some workers didn't show up Saturday night, convention center officials said.

The initial phase of the show's disassembly started as planned after the event's end, said Peter Eelman, vice president of exhibitions and communications for the Association for Manufacturing Technology, the group that runs the show. He said the implications of the job action would become clearer in the coming days.

Carpenters union leader Frank Libby said he expected the picketing to continue Sunday. His union wants the right to unionize the workers used by exhibitors, he said. Or, Libby said, the old rules could be put back into place.

"We have no other avenue," he said. "We know the ramifications and, obviously, a dialogue has to start somewhere."

David Causton, general manager of McCormick Place, said the union has a two-day permit for the picket. He said he hoped the tearing down can continue as planned Monday. He said he doesn't see this as an official job action, but an informational protest.

Eelman said organizers and exhibitors saw the convention as a "tremendous" success. Nearly 82,000 people registered to attend Sunday through Friday, Eelman said, and he expected Saturday's attendance to boost that total slightly.

The rules changes were crucial to the show's success, and exhibitors encountered attendees with a "buying intention" that had been absent in recent shows, he said.

Even with the rule changes, the cost of staying in Chicago remains daunting, said Tim Taylor, a Haas salesman. He noted the cost of parking downtown for several days.

"I can fly to Tampa for cheaper," he said.
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