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| McCormick Place, 2010 |
Yes, there is plenty of blame to go around. But even a union boss realizes they are part of the problem, as Crain's Chicago Business tells us:
"We're not squeaky clean, but now we're getting squeezed," says Frank Libby, president of the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters. Mr. Libby says his members lost more than 26,000 hours and up to $1.75 million in wages between Aug. 1, when the new rules took effect, and the end of March.Try getting squeaky clean.
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McCormick Place: Unions forcing the rise of a Chicago exhibit hall's fall
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| Chicago Marathon expo, McCormick Place, 2009 |
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2 comments:
John:
First off, the Car Care Expo has been in Vegas for the past 5 years so while its presence in Chicago based on intent would have been welcomed by the city, its commitment has been to Vegas.
In terms of pulling a quote from a labor head, that's pretty much out of context and giving readers the wrong impression. The "squeaky clean" comment was in reference to questions about union trade show issues from yesteryear. It's more important to note that for more than a year, as documented, labor has been very vocal about establishing on behalf of exhibitors a customer "bill of rights" that includes transparency of charges and independent audits. This is particularly noteworthy now in light of the Crain's investigative article, "Contractors, trade associations squeeze convention exhibitors at McCormick Place."
Perhaps Car Care Expo, tied to the International Carwash Association, read that article, too. Perhaps Car Care Expo paid particular attention to these juicy nuggets:
"The reforms required no meaningful concessions from trade associations or a pair of show contractors that continue to squeeze exhibitors, who already bear most of the costs of conventions.
"Freeman and Global Experience Specialists Inc., which handle three out of four McCormick Place shows, still charge the same high rates exhibitors cite as their No. 1 complaint.
"These charges are higher at McCormick Place than at some other convention centers, including Rosemont's.
"At the same time, contractors reward the trade associations by covering some of their direct costs, then passing those costs on to exhibitors through higher prices for a range of services. Crain's also finds that trade associations pad their profits by substantially marking up what exhibitors pay for floor space and hotel rooms controlled by the associations.
"The association managers have gone tone deaf to the needs of their exhibitors, and they've become addicted to the money they realize from the contractors," says Jim Wurm, executive director of the Exhibitor Appointed Contractors Assn., a Bend, Ore.-based non-profit advocacy group."
Seems to me that the International Carwash Association has been incriminated via this Crain's report. The associations and contractors are in cahoots, and a federal judge sided with labor due to legislation that overstepped its bounds AND the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority and the contractors, Freeman and GES, namely, ignoring a plethora of opportunities to truly save exhibitors money. These partners in the shenanigans found it strategically smart to point the finger at labor as a way to protect their financial interests -- interests that came to light with this Crain's article.
One last thing, in reference to your post. This legislative "reform" was enacted and remains in place for the time being until the judge decided whether to issue a stay or affirm his original ruling.
Thanks for the opportunity to comment.
If the unions want to be "squeaky clean," why don't they drop the lawsuit to block the reform legislation?
The union boss spoke in the present tense--he wasn't talking about "yesteryear."
In the post I did say that unions weren't the only guilty party.
As for the association markups on space, much of that money goes to education programs run by these groups. Are the markups excessive? Probably.
But I have to ask you, why are trade shows moving to right-to-work states?
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