Historic work-rule changes at McCormick Place adopted by eight key trade unions in 1998 at the urging of Mayor Richard Daley have been extended at least through 2005 under a new agreementthat officials said Thursday will help ensure Chicago’s competitive position as it vies with other cities for lucrative conventions and trade shows.
If none of the parties opts to reopen the agreement during two brief future “windows,” itcould remain in effect until 2014, said Scott Fawell, chief executive officer of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, the public agency that operates McCormick Place and Navy Pier, where the work rules also will be extended.
“Perception is reality, and there was this giant perception that Chicago was a tough place to do business,” Fawell said. “The perception now is that Chicago is still the premier convention center in this country.”
“If there had been any stepping back, it would have been a huge negative,” said James Reilly, chief executive officer of the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau. “But the unions are willing to extend (the agreement), and that will be seen as a very good sign.”
Under provisions of the pact, overtime rules were altered for some trades to bring down exhibitor costs and to eliminate red tape and frustrating delays in setting up exhibits. Work that had been done separately by carpenters and decorators now is done by tradesmen from those two unions operating from a “unified labor pool.”
Exhibitors with booths covering less than 300 square feet can opt to do their own setup and are permitted to plug in standard 110-volt equipment without calling an electrician.
Under the extended agreement, show management for the first time will be permitted to plug in computers at registration desks.
Officials of Machinery Movers and Riggers Local 136 and Decorators Union Local 17 initially had fears about how the agreement would affect fellow union members, “but I think they have fared very well,” Fawell said. “They were concerned about losing some hours because of work-rule changes and cost (reductions) for shows, but what we have had is more shows than we ever had. With more shows comes more work.”
Mike Fitzgerald, business manager of Local 134 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said his members “were a little apprehensive in the beginning” because of work they believed they might lose.
But “overall, in the big picture, (the agreement) has been very beneficial for us,” Fitzgerald said Thursday. “It has attracted business. Our man-hours are up. We are busier than we have ever been.”
Daley pushed for the original accord as a few big conventions and shows, including the International Housewares Show, considered pulling up stakes because of what they considered unfavorable conditions in Chicago. Other cities, including Las Vegas and Orlando, planned huge new convention facilities that would rival McCormick Place.
McCormick Place and Navy Pier have not lost any of their convention and show clients since the agreement was reached and “we have had shows like the Cable TV Show that never would have considered coming here had it not been for the changes,” Reilly said. The convention bureau also has been able to bring back to Chicago midsize shows that once were here “and were especially nervous about Chicago labor,” he said.
