Here's a true story: An exhibitor for a New Jersey-based electronics firm arrives at his booth site in a convention center in California. He and his partner start unpacking the crate—a popup display and some posters and lighting for a 10-by-10-foot booth. A big, burly shop steward walks up and says, "You have 10 minutes to set up. After that, we take over." He walks a few feet away and leans on the wall, one eye on his watch, the other on the exhibitors.
The pair beat a hasty retreat.
As a planner, when you use a convention center, you try to create a successful trade show by keeping exhibitors and attendees happy. To do so, you've got to make nice with the proverbial elephant in the room, a.k.a. the building labor: the folks who drive the forklifts, move the crates, set up and tear down the booths, plug in the equipment, hang the signs and lighting, and so on.
But work rules and jurisdictions—what unions do and don't do, what exhibitors are allowed to do, not to mention which unions do what—vary from city to city. And if you haven't done your homework, that could result in unnecessary friction between exhibitors and union workers.
The good news, however, is that trade unions are more flexible today than ever. In some of the toughest labor environments, planners and show managers have persuaded building labor to make major work-rule concessions. Here's how and why the power balance shifted, how to educate your exhibitors, how to avoid conflict, and the inside scoop on the best and worst trade unions in cities across the country.
Cleaned Up
The Jacob K. Javits Center has come a long way since its beginnings in the mid-1970s, when it was an open secret that organized crime was involved with the building contract. Construction was plagued by bid-rigging, expensive delays (the center took over a decade to be completed), and other hallmarks of mob influence, which later carried over into control of the trade unions providing labor at the building after it opened in 1986.
"From 1986 through 1994, customers believed that you could get more done at Javits with a little grease—that $10 here, $20 there would speed the work along and get you better service," recalls John Roberts, president of the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade and owner of the Fancy Food Show, which has met more or less annually at the Javits since the building opened. "I can't say for sure there was mob influence, but there were arrogant people and no-show people, and security was such that exhibitors felt they had to bribe people" to keep goods and equipment from disappearing overnight off the show floor.
But thanks to Rudolph Giuliani, who in the early 1980s as Manhattan's district attorney launched a war on the mob that resulted in hundreds of convictions as well as successful prosecutions of the city's most notorious Mafia families, organized crime's influence began to wane. Giuliani was elected the Big Apple's mayor in 1993, and in 1995 Governor George Pataki turned his attention to reforming the Javits situation.
As the Javits Center is under state authority, Pataki replaced the building's management and declared existing labor contracts null and void—in effect, firing all building employees in the center. Union workers could come back to work at Javits, but they would have to reapply and would be considered state employees for the days they worked in the building, a new status that legally barred them from striking. A brand-new, Javits-run labor department would re-interview all candidates for union work, test them on knowledge of their trades, and check for criminal records.
As a result of this cleanup campaign, "The labor situation at Javits changed dramatically in 1995," says Roberts, whose show was the first to be held at the center under the new rules. Both security levels and workers' attitudes greatly improved, he says.
Today, the building offers ongoing training in customer service for carpenters, electricians, and other show-floor workers, as well as classes in such areas as exhibit-building and rug-laying. "All of our workers are told that the level of effort they put in determines how often they're called back" to work, says a Javits spokesman. They're also happier when they show up, he adds, because the labor department distributes jobs more democratically.
Javits officials say they've received requests from centers across the country, including those in Las Vegas, Atlanta, and Chicago, to informally advise them on their respective labor situations. And as recently as this July, a delegation of show organizers from South Korea visited the Javits Center to observe how it does business, and to borrow ideas.
Uniting the Brotherhood
The Javits, with its reputation for "arrogant and no-show" labor, had been open for seven years by the time Philadelphia's Pennsylvania Convention Center debuted in 1993. The Javits example gave the town fathers in the City of Brotherly Love—where labor unions also had a reputation for being "extremely difficult," according to Roberts—plenty of time to ponder how improved labor relations might bring their building more business. And a new economic landscape meant that unions could less afford to be arrogant; Philly was losing convention business to Sun Belt cities like Atlanta and Orlando, which had reputations for less rigid, less expensive labor.
In this environment, Roberts was able to negotiate work-rule concessions for a show he booked at the center in 1992, even before it opened. With the building not yet complete, then-Mayor Ed Rendell was eager to lock in the business and agreed to convince the unions to allow some of Roberts' exhibitors to set up their own booths. "I don't know how he got labor to agree to that, but he did," says Roberts. "We had no problems in Philadelphia."
Work-rule changes like these were initially negotiated on a show-by-show basis, but became standard when the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority (PCCA) announced a "customer satisfaction agreement" in 2003. The unions made a number of across-the-board concessions, including allowing exhibitors to do work in booths of less than 300 square feet provided they not use power tools. Also, the six unions that work the convention center now operate together under what's known as a "unified workforce." This means that a job left undone by a carpenter, for instance, can be finished up by a rigger or a stagehand. Workers are forbidden from striking, and hired through a labor supplier so that customers don't have to deal with unions individually.
The agreement turned out to be key to ensuring that the Society of Nuclear Medicine's convention in June 2004 went smoothly, despite a walkout during setup by the electrical workers. The convention center took the union to court and swiftly obtained a judicial injunction ordering the union to return to work immediately. To the surprise of the meeting planner, the union did so—and without complaining.
"I was concerned because I didn't want the workers to come back if they had an attitude," says Jane Day, director of meeting services for the Reston, VA-based society. "But the convention center assured me that wouldn't happen, and it didn't. When they came back to work, they came back to work." In the end, her show was disrupted for only a few hours, and opened on time.
In October of last year, the PCCA hired Dittie Guise as chief operating officer, a job that entails, essentially, smoothing the way between labor and customers. Guise meets with union representatives regularly to educate them on what shows are coming in, the value of the business and the caliber of the exhibitors, and what customers expect. In a way, you could say that she helps the unions understand that if they try to make too much money for themselves, they could end up losing money for themselves—by discouraging business from coming to town.
Our Kind of Town
Chicago's National Restau-rant Association was perfectly happy to keep holding its Restaurant Hotel-Motel Show at McCormick Place in its hometown for the last 50-odd years, until a "dramatic" change took place a few years ago in the convention landscape, says Mary Pat Heftman, senior vice president of conventions. When convention space was added in Vegas and Orlando—which enjoy "work rules and efficiencies that we would like to bring here," says Heftman—she and other influential show organizers began leaning harder on officials at the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (which owns and operates McCormick Place) to get Chicago's unions to modify their work rules. They especially sought changes in mandatory crew sizes and the window on "straight time," meaning the hours during which work is billed at the standard hourly rate rather than overtime or double-time.
In May of this year, the center announced a new agreement addressing several of Heftman's concerns. Crew sizes would be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and "straight time" could now start as early as 6:00 a.m. The rules also strengthened exhibitors' rights: Since 1997 exhibitors with booths of less than 300 square feet have been allowed to do certain tasks themselves, and the new agreement expanded these rights to larger booths. The agreement also announced the formation of a labor-management council, consisting of MPEA officials, labor leaders, service contractors, and show organizers, including Heftman, who will meet regularly to bring about further modifications.
"It's a start," says Heftman of the new rules. "We had great meetings with all the labor leaders at the show, and the riggers' union went the next step and enacted change." The riggers came on the floor during the show and went booth by booth reevaluating crew sizes, she explains. Thanks to that process, 57 percent of Heftman's exhibitors saw a reduction in crew size, and therefore in cost.
"The labor unions didn't have to sit down and talk about this," adds Heftman. "They have collective-bargaining agreements already. But they all came to the table, and that's very much appreciated."
Show Me
Two years ago, Melanie Donnelly, who had been working for the America's Center in St. Louis for over 10 years, was given a new assignment: labor relations manager, a position not unlike that of Dittie Guise's in Philadelphia.
"I begin meeting with customers early on in the sales process to identify areas of concern [regarding work rules] and get a good understanding of their events," explains Donnelly. "Some trade shows are heavy in audiovisual; others may be more concerned about utilities or the loading docks." If she sees the potential for conflict with the work rules in her building, Donnelly raises the issue with the appropriate union representative.
For the National Wood Flooring Show, whose exhibitors prefer to install their own floors, Donnelly managed to convince the carpenters' union to relax the rules regarding this work. She brought some union members with her to attend an earlier National Wood Flooring show, and when they realized how important this piece of business was, Donnelly says, they agreed to let the exhibitors do the installations themselves.
Mary Anne Rogers of Atlanta-based Shepard Exposition Services found a similar flexibility when she organized the National Athletic Trainers' Association convention at the America's Center recently. The NATA's trade show comprises many small exhibitors who do their own unloading and the association relies heavily on volunteer labor, but Rogers had no trouble getting the unions to agree to these circumstances.
"Melanie and the labor unions in St. Louis understand that self-unloaders are an important part of that show," says Rogers. "They look at the business as a whole. Having been a stagehand myself many years ago, it's nice to work in an environment where the labor unions have the customer in mind, not themselves."
Work It
The labor movement currently stands at a crossroads. Since 1955, when the American Federation of Labor merged with the Congress of International Organizations to form the AFL-CIO, trade-union membership levels have fallen from one-third of all private sector workers in the United States to just eight percent today. But as trade unions have declined in importance, the service sector has grown. Thus it's probably no coincidence that the four unions that boycotted the AFL-CIO convention at Chicago's Navy Pier in July are comprised essentially of service-sector workers.
The Service Employees International Union, along with the Teamsters, United Food and Commercial Workers, and UNITE HERE (textile, hotel, and restaurant workers), voted not to attend the annual meeting—which marked the 50th anniversary of the AFL-CIO's merger and should have been a strong show of unity—saying that they disapprove of the federation's leadership and overall direction. At press time, all of them except for UNITE HERE had also decided to leave the AFL-CIO altogether, which means that the federation is losing at least three of its biggest unions and nearly one-third of its 13 million members.
Whether this development will result in a more rigid or more flexible environment for those working with unions in the future remains to be seen. "We're trying to bring 80 years of organized-labor attitude into the 21st century," says Steven Hacker, president of the International Association for Exhibition Management in Dallas. "That's not easy. But over the course of time, we're seeing that the pendulum has swung dramatically." SIDEBARSLearning the Trade The best way to familiarize yourself with building work rules and which unions do what is to talk to your show-services contractor. These companies typically work in buildings all across the country (GES Exposition Services, for instance, has 110 different collective-bargaining agreements—a fancy name for contracts—with unions nationwide), so they know the ins and outs of which trades do which jobs.
Often, it's not what you'd assume. You might expect that teamsters, for instance, only handle freight, but "what the teamsters do in Vegas, the decorators do in L.A., the carpenters do in Chicago, and the stagehands do in Orlando," says Anne Hanson, executive vice president of labor relations for GES Exposition Services. "That's somewhat simplified, but it's generally true."
Rules governing whether exhibitors can carry in their own equipment and set up their own booths are even more complex. A general rule everywhere, says Hanson, is that "if an exhibitor can carry something in by hand in one trip, that's allowed." But beyond that it's anyone's guess—30 minutes to set up your booth, or an hour? Tools okay, but not power tools? So make sure you familiarize yourself with the union jurisdictions for the building you're using. Ask a convention services manager or, better yet, your show contractor. And share the information with your exhibitors: Freeman has a handy one-page "cheat sheet" that you can send out and reinforce later in e-mail blasts to exhibitors.
Finally, heed the advice of Steven Hacker, president of the International Association for Exhibition Management in Dallas: "It's a mistake to think that labor unions are the enemy. They're part of the show system." Despite stereotypes to the contrary, many union members are skilled laborers who take pride in their work. A little appreciation and positive reinforcement can go a long way: If workers do a good job, shake the steward's hand, write a letter, or call a meeting to praise them to the center and the CVB. And if a dispute arises between exhibitors and laborers, it's best to have both parties kick it upstairs by getting the show organizers and building management involved. The "Deep Throat" of Building Labor We won't reveal our source except to say that he works at "a Freeman-like company," where he negotiates collective-bargaining agreements with labor unions and organizes trade shows nationwide. His picks for the convention centers whose labor forces need the most improvement:
Orlando: "It's in a right-to-work state but the IATSE local 835 [stagehands' union] controls the building, and they need to get some experienced help that's productive."
Philadelphia: "They hired an outside vendor, but it ain't worth anything because they still have same sorry labor and work rules. All they did was add a middleman [the Elliot Lewis management company], which jacks up the labor rates substantially but doesn't make it easier for contractors to produce shows. We now go through Elliot Lewis to make the labor call, but we get the same number of workers and stewards. The stewards are appointed by the union not to work or even supervise the job, but to make sure exhibitors aren't [breaking jurisdiction rules by] plugging in a plug."
Washington D.C.: "If you handpick your labor you can get some work done; otherwise I have my doubts. We 'call' [hire labor] by name to get better guys working for us. We know which workers show up ready to work, can operate a forklift, can lay a carpet properly--we like the fuzzy side up." What "Right-To-Work State" Really Means In general, right-to-work states such as Georgia, Florida, Texas, Nevada, and others have looser union jurisdictions and lower labor costs. But the term means less than you think. "A right-to-work state is one where a worker does not have to be a union member to work in a facility," explains Anne Hanson of GES. "But that doesn't necessarily mean that exhibitors can do their own labor or hire their own workers." Those jurisdictions are governed by show-floor rules specific to the building. Even in right-to-work states, adds Hanson, much of work related to trade shows ends up assigned to unions anyway—they're the easiest place for contractors to go to find skilled labor in a hurry. The Straight Dope Cecil Adams of Shepard Exposition Services in Atlanta handles union contracts all across the country. Here are his picks for the top three labor workforces in the land:
Nashville. "Local 46, the stagehands, are very good. They do everything, they don't gripe, they don't have nonworking stewards, and they're very polite and professional."
Anaheim, "especially the sign painters' local 831 and the teamsters' local 986. All of Southern California has a great workforce." That good attitude may soon be catching: The installers' union in Southern California offers a certification program that's being copied by Milwaukee, Miami, Minneapolis, and other cities. The program offers more than 20 classes leading to certification in everything from rigging to customer service; workers receive color-coded badges indicating their skill area so that contractors can easily call certified laborers.
Baltimore. "The carpenters are very good, especially compared to [how they were] 10 years ago. They're not quite as good as in Anaheim or Nashville, but they do good work."