By Kathy Bergen | Chicago
trade show organizers are meeting directly with McCormick Place labor
leaders this afternoon in a private meeting at the McCormick Place
Hyatt.
The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, the government agency that owns and operates McCormick Place and Navy Pier, initially said it had no information about the meeting. Later in the day, a spokeswoman said Juan Ochoa, the agency’s chief executive, was in fact aware of the session, as were other managers. The Chicago Convention and Tourism
Bureau, which books business into the convention hall, also said it had
no information.
Mary Pat Heftman, point person for the National Restaurant Association’s
annual show here, was asked about who organized the meeting as she
approached the meeting room.
She characterized it as a “hodgepodge” of McCormick Place customers. She said the idea was for labor to hear directly from customers, without any middlemen involved.
She said the authority and the bureau were not participants.
“It’s a chance to break bread on St. Patrick’s Day, and maybe we’ll drink a little green beer.”
Participants were asked to sign non-disclosure agreements.
Show organizers have been increasingly vocal about the high cost of hosting a show in Chicago, and a couple of large shows have left town.
Today’s meeting comes shortly before two separate governmental panels are set to begin deliberations on how to make the city more competitive with lower-cost rivals.
BUST THE UNIONS . . . .
. . . . . AND WATCH CHICAGO PROSPER !!!!!!
I urge all prospective trade show organizers to please,PLEASE,take your business elsewhere.The city of Chicago,the unions need to be taught the power of a boycot.The unions are the worst thing to happen to America & its economy.
I urge all prospective trade show organizers to please,PLEASE,take your business elsewhere.The city of Chicago,the unions need to be taught the power of a boycot.The unions are the worst thing to happen to America & its economy.
It is well known that many event producers (the companies hired by trade shows to manage the set-up and technical operations of trade shows) not only charge profit gaining rates on the management work, but also on the labor rate. Just because the unions are charging one rate doesn’t mean that the trade show is paying that rate. They may be getting gouged by the event company that is facilitating between the show and the labor unions.