Faced with the possibility of losing business to other cities, labor unions involved in setting up conventions at McCormick Place on Wednesday agreed to landmark concessions that end a protracted struggle with the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority.
Under the plan, workers would become employees of McCormick Place, which will establish a labor pool to provide staffing.
Officials of McCormick Place said that they’re taking the agreement to Springfield on Thursday in hopes of getting the plan approved by the legislature before it adjourns Friday.
Legislation is needed to allow the authority to hire the workers and make them subject to Illinois’ public employee bargaining act.
The authority also is seeking permission to construct a 4,000-space, multilevel parking garage near McCormick Place South as well as a dedicated bus lane along the Metra rail tracks running alongside Lake Shore Drive.
“We are hopeful that the General Assembly will approve this new legislation, which has the support of both management and labor,” said James Reilly, chief executive officer of the authority.
“The unions which serve McCormick Place clearly recognize that, if Chicago is to remain the convention capital of the United States, we need to strengthen and update the way we serve our customers,” Reilly said.
The plan agreed to is virtually a copy of one proposed two weeks ago by the authority when it threatened to seek legislation without the acquiescence of the Chicago Federation of Labor.
Unions, however, refused to budge on a provision that would have prevented workers from striking.
“We will rely on some language that’s mutually acceptable to avoid strikes,” said John Devona, senior director of marketing for the authority. “The intent is to avoid the arbitrary use of a strike to settle a dispute and give the trade show industry the assurance that their shows will go on in Chicago as they have in the past.”
The federation had been under pressure to make a deal with the authority by Mayor Richard M. Daley, who reportedly met with union representatives twice.
“Essentially, there will be bargaining coalitions,” said Donald Turner, president of the Chicago federation. “One coalition will be composed of guys who move stuff and the other of guys that put stuff up.”
Now, exhibitors deal with four outside unions–the Teamsters, Riggers, Decorators and Carpenters–and electrical workers who already are authority employees.
Reilly had insisted that the contract changes were necessary if Chicago is to remain competitive with other convention business rivals such as New York City, which two years ago unilaterally imposed similar rules.
It takes as many as 2,000 workers from the Riggers, Decorators, Teamsters and Carpenters unions to set up some of Chicago’s biggest trade events, such as the Hardware Show or the Chicago Boat Show.
Officials of major trade shows that have been meeting in Chicago for years have been threatening to leave unless major concessions were agreed to by the unions. A group of 24 users, including the Radiological Society of North America, had endorsed the proposal to create a work force controlled by the convention centers.
Two weeks ago, officials of the federation were denouncing the proposal to reduce the jurisdictions and take over hiring. On Wednesday, the unions were speaking in a conciliatory fashion.
“While change is always difficult, it’s clear that other cities are aggressively seeking our convention business . . . and we’re not going to lose the work,” said Dennis Gannon, secretary-treasurer of the federation.
“The unions which serve McCormick Place clearly recognize that, if Chicago is to remain the convention capital of the United States, we need to strengthen and update the way we serve our customers,” he said.
