State Senate Rejects McCormick Labor, Management Deal

<B> State Senate Rejects McCormick Labor, Management Deal</B>

By Mary Ann McNulty

Recognizing the serious threat of competing cities to Chicago's status as a top convention town, executives of five labor unions and McCormick Place hammered out an agreement to address the three biggest complaints of planners and exhibitors: labor, parking and transportation.

The only glitch to the plan is that the Illinois legislature failed to approve it. The Illinois House approved the measure, but the Senate twice rejected it.

"We remain optimistic that this will happen," said John Devona, senior vice president of marketing for the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, adding that management would like to work out a voluntary agreement without legislation, if possible.

Labor and management planned to meet to discuss what changes--if any--could be implemented immediately. In the unique accord that the labor unions and MPEA executives put before the legislature, the unions agreed to simplify jurisdictions from four to two and establish the MPEA as the employer of the workers in its facilities, effective Jan. 1, 1999. Instead of dealing with both riggers and Teamsters to move materials and carpenters and decorators to set up booths, exhibitors would deal with just one jurisdiction to move stuff and another to put stuff up, said Donald Turner, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor. The decorators union didn't officially sign onto the plan, nor did they reject it.

In exchange, MPEA officials offered to try to overcome the parking and transportation complaints of planners and exhibitors by building a 4,000-space garage across the street from its new South Building and constructing a dedicated bus lane from downtown to the facility along METRA rail tracks. As the tracks are located in a trench, bus riders wouldn't be subject to traffic tie-ups as they are now. Both plans are contingent on getting legislative approval for $100 million in new bonding authority. The bonds would be paid off by existing visitor taxes on hotel, car rental, restaurant and cab bills. In addition, MPEA agreed to drop efforts to make strikes illegal at McCormick.

Although the legislation, if approved, won't take effect until 1999, both sides agreed that exhibitors immediately should see some benefits of their pact. Thus, they agreed to loosen labor rules concerning what exhibitors can do to set up their own booths and revise overtime and standby rules. Over the next year, they also agreed to establish an interim labor-management committee to ensure compliance with all the changes, and make sure costs savings are being passed along to customers. To facilitate this, MPEA has been empowered to audit contracts between trade shows and contractors. Labor executives insisted on a means to verify that their concessions would reach customers after learning that the financial benefits of previous work rule concessions were not reaching those paying the bills.

Negotiating with labor for more than a year, MPEA proposed sweeping changes in the way the facility operates. For example, new work rules will allow exhibitors to set up larger booths--up to 10 x 20--with no time limits, provided they can do so without using power tools. Currently, rules allow exhibitors to set up only 10 x 10 booths, provided they can do it without power tools in under 30 minutes. In addition, work rules on setting up computers have been eased to allow lengthy cable runs, not just simple interconnects.

Unlike New York, which implemented a "hiring hall" plan as a means to end scandals, Chicago "is really trying to pull together" to demonstrate its commitment to the meetings and trade show industry, said Devona. Noting that the changes are designed to appeal to both large and midsize shows that Chicago is courting, Devona said, "Big shows have more venues to choose from today. For us to get some smaller events to come to Chicago, we have to demonstrate that we're not much different than other smaller Midwestern venues like Indianapolis or St. Louis."

Also unlike New York, "We don't plan to add mark-ups for anything beyond payroll and workers comp. This is not an effort on our part to make more money," Devona said. Nor is this an effort to eliminate the independent contractors and 100 or so installation and dismantling houses hired by corporations and associations to erect and dismantle all their trade show booths, he added. "They will continue to function as they always have," he said.

With the opening of the renovated Lakeside Center--formerly known as McCormick East--Chicago hopes to attract more corporate and association business to run concurrently with mega trade shows filling the 1.6 million square feet of exhibit space in the North and South halls. The $75 million retrofit of Lakeside Center is expected to be completed early next year. Last month, meanwhile, Lakeside Center's 4,000 seat-Arie Crown Theater reopened, replete with a new sound system and seats.