By John Byrne
and Kathy Bergen | Mayor Richard Daley says his office will be meeting with Gov. Pat Quinn to determine why the governor is balking at signing the McCormick Place overhaul legislation.
“We’ll be talking to him very shortly,” Daley told reporters today.
When asked about the consequences for the city if the bill is not signed, Daley said, “We have to make sure we have the best convention atmosphere because people depend off of it — both local, county and state governments basically get a huge amount of money off it. That’s realistic. A lot of sales tax coming in.”
“And in turn, a lot of jobs directly and indirectly related to the
convention industry,” he said.
The mayor’s remarks add to the pressure on Quinn, who is weighing
legislation that passed both houses of the General Assembly by big
margins. And Quinn is likely to feel more heat tomorrow, when he meets
with some of the city’s biggest trade show organizers who are pushing
for passage.
On the other side, at least two labor unions are strongly opposed, and
the possibility of a legal challenge has been raised.
Unions have voters and Unions will be severely harmed by the “NEW” deal to enrich the daley goons, hacks and Kronies.
Labor gets the shaft.
“Mayor Richard Daley says his office will be meeting with Gov. Pat Quinn to determine why the governor is balking at signing the McCormick Place overhaul legislation.
“We’ll be talking to him very shortly,” Daley told reporters today.”
Shouldn’t that word “talking” be corrected to “THREATENING!?”
Keep on putting those Demoncrats in office. They’ve done such a “wonderful” job wherever they’re elected!
SPELLING LESSON:
last 4 letters say it all
American = ICAN
Republican = ICAN
Democrats = RATS
“nuff said!”
that is where fitzgerald should be with his handcuffs.
Why? Because Quinn is this state’s village idiot. He must go in November.
Unions will be harmed if conventions keep finding other cities to have their conventions.
The GOP, at a national level, are absolutely out their mind. The democrats, in Chicago, are corrupt. Still, I’m socially liberal, so I can’t justify voting republican statewide, even though Quinn is not ideal (look how he was cowardly in repealing the seniors-ride-free that the RTA badly needs). So, I’m not exactly partisan. But I hope Daley takes him to task here. McPier is losing business and needs reform. Quinn will lose my vote if he blocks another movement that will benefit the city, like this.
C, it is the union working men and women who make Chicago conventions what they are. They are the best and most skilled in the business. With this legislation, it is those same men and women who will lose not only work, but their health care. Daley talks about Quinn signing this as it’ll mean jobs, but he’s in his typical coma because he either doesn’t know or ignores how this legislation will affect McCormick Place labor. It’s the contractors — Freeman and GES — that hike the costs and submit the bills to exhibitors, and this legislation doesn’t touch them. In other words, keep the new legislation with the transparency of audits and customer bill of rights, but amend the unfair worker rules. Then we’ll have legislation that just might work. I applaud Quinn for performing the due diligence and not simply signing something put together so the General Assembly could get out of Springfield in timely fashion.
The mention of a lawsuit and Quinn buckles.
WEENIE.
Is what is good for Freeman and GES, good for McPier, exhibitors and the people of Illinois?
Jim Reilly, a former consultant for both GES and Freeman is now in control of McPier for the next 18 months, with Czar powers.
Will he have McPier’s long-term interests in mind when he makes any decision?
Who will Jim Reilly and David Causton be consulting for, 18 months from now?
Freeman and GES charge exhibitors $17,000 for $200 worth of drayage labor at McCormick Place, and the legislative solution is to cut the labor cost.
The legislation installed a new 16-hour straight time window, which far exceeds Orlando’s 8-hour straight time window.
The citizens of the State of Illinois now must subsidize McCormick Place and its non-profit electrical services.
Twice a year, an audit of exhibitor rights will verify that these cost savings are passed on to the exhibitors.
This verifies that the $20 of labor savings will show up of the exhibitor’s bill.
So now, the drayage price can be $16,980 for $180 worth of drayage labor.
THIS LEGISLATION DID NOT TOUCH FREEMAN and GES PROFIT CENTERS.
The Trade Associations, which share in these enormous profits, cheered the legislation.
The exhibitors wanted transparency.
The exhibitors wanted price relief on materials handling (drayage), exhibit space costs, exhibit transportation, and booth décor.
There is nothing in the legislation that protects exhibitors from unpredictable and escalating charges, cost-shifting, energy surcharges, special handling, bundling, undisclosed third party payments, exorbitant mark ups on labor and other services by Freeman, GES and other GSC’s while at McCormick Place.
Freeman and GES have retained control and profit on all of these exhibitor costs.
The EXHIBITORS are the customer, not Freeman, GES or the Trade Associations.
The State of Illinois legislators need to go back and get it right.
Is all of this to benefit the monopolies of Freeman and GES?
Is there anything in place to prevent David Causton from accepting a job with Freeman or GES after he takes his pension?
Is David Causton doing what Jim Reilly did, give Freeman and GES whatever they want while they work for McPier, so they can work for Freeman and GES afterwards as a consultant?
Is this why no one challenged the obviously fictitious HiMMS booth claim, the SPI-NPE Cost Comparison and Ms. Heftman’s testimony?
They are all talking about exhibitor’s rights, but they are doing nothing to protect the exhibitors.
What is in this legislation that protects exhibitors from unpredictable and escalating charges, cost-shifting, energy surcharges, special handling, bundling, undisclosed third party payments, exorbitant mark ups on drayage and other services by Freeman, GES and other GSC’s while at McCormick Place?
Where is the transparency?
None of these proposals addresses 90% of exhibitor’s complaints.
Again, here is an exhibitor survey from Trade Show Week magazine.
http://www.tradeshowweek.com/article/CA6708531.html?q=McCormick
Let see how these proposals match up to address the exhibitor’s complaints.
In your opinion, what is the single most inflated tradeshow cost?
Materials handling (drayage) – No change, Freeman and GES retain control and profits.
50%
Exhibit space – No change, Freeman and GES retain control and profits.
30%
Furniture rental – No change, Freeman and GES retain control and profits.
7%
Electricity – Focus One is no longer the exclusive electrical contractor, the prices are reduced to cost.
4%
Telecommunications – Focus One is no longer the exclusive electrical contractor,the prices are reduced to cost.
4%
Exhibit transportation – No change, Freeman and GES retain control and profits.
2%
Installation and dismantle – The bill allows exhibitors to set up their own booths, regardless of size.
2%
Booth decor – No change, Freeman and GES retain control and profits.
2%
Catering – Trade shows to bring in their own food and beverages.
0%
The failure to address these problems will not solve any of the exhibitor’s concerns.
Only Mr. Reilly’s past clients, GES and Freeman, and their trade associations will benefit from this legislation.
The exhibitor’s are the customer, NOT Freeman and GES, and this legislation completely ignores the exhibitor’s concerns.
“C, it is the union working men and women who make Chicago conventions what they are.”
Exactly! They are making them disappear!
Here are Freeman’s Orlando overtime rules:
http://www.freemanco.com/store/browse/labor/selectLaborServiceType.jsp?ownerId=fol&categoryId=40&nav=03
Straight Time
Monday – Friday 8AM to 4:30PM
Over Time
Mon-Fri 6AM-8AM, 4:30PM-12AM; Sat & Sun 6AM-12AM
Double Time
Monday – Sunday 12AM to 6AM and all Holidays
Here are Chicago’s Focus One present overtime rules;
http://focus-one.org/pdf/BlankMCGuide.pdf
Standard Time
Monday-Friday 8:00 am-4:30 pm
Over Time
Monday-Friday 4:30 pm-8:00 am
Saturday before 4:30 pm
Double Time
Saturday 4:30 pm to Monday 8:00 am or
after 8 hours at work on Saturday regardless of starting time.
All day Sunday and Holidays
Here are the proposed rules:
On Monday through Friday for any consecutive 8-hour
period during the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., union
employees on Authority premises shall be paid
straight-time hourly wages plus fringe benefits. Union
employees shall be paid straight-time and a half hourly
wages plus fringe benefits for labor services provided
after any consecutive 8-hour period; provided, however,
that between the hours of midnight and 6:00 a.m. union
employees shall be paid double straight-time wages plus
fringe benefits for labor services.
The owner of the 2,950-room Las Vegas Hilton hotel-casino on Paradise Road today disclosed it lost money during the fourth quarter as conventions attracted fewer business people to Las Vegas.
The Hilton, controlled by investment company Colony Capital of Los Angeles and other investors, said in its annual report today it lost $8.223 million in the fourth quarter vs. $4.288 million lost in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Fourth quarter net revenue fell from $60.9 million in 2008 to $50.234 million.
No matter how much the unions give up……these conventions are dinosaurs and will soon be exticnt anyway.