Workers
returned to the job at the Pennsylvania Convention Center Monday morning as
members of two fellow unions protested against being shut out from the
sprawling complex.
Police
outnumbered the union protesters.
During
the morning, about 40 to 50 demonstrators - most, if not all, from Teamsters
Local 107 - held positions around the sprawling complex, carrying signs saying
"Locked Out" and shouting at workers entering the building. Some
members of Carpenters Union Local 8 handed out literature to passersby.
Four
other unions reached agreement on work rule changes at the center last week and
their members continue to work at the center.
As
protesters jeered, electricians Local 98 leader John Dougherty, Sam Staten of
Laborers Local 332 and Michael Barnes of the Stagehands union joined about 30
members of their unions going into the hall to begin work on exhibits for a
conference being held there this week.
Police,
including uniformed bicycle officers and members of the Civil Affairs Unit in
plainclothes, took up positions on every block around the center.
"Is
al-Qaeda supposed to launch a terrorist attack here?" said a Teamster who
would not give his name. "It seems like a hell of a lot of people for a
labor dispute."
Police
Capt. Stephen Glenn of the Civil Affairs Union said the protesters have been
"very well behaved and professional."
A black
tractor tailer with Teamsters Local 107 on the side announced the union's
presence in a highly visible fashion.
"Go
home," a group of Teamsters shouted as two men carrying doughnuts walked
into the center's employee entrance.
The
protest coincides with the start of registration for the 11th annual World
Congress on Industrial Biotechnology at the Convention Center. About 1,100
people are expected to attend the convention, which runs through Thursday.
The
Teamsters local and Carpenters Local 8 were locked out last week after failing
to agree in a timely manner to new work rules and lost their convention jobs to
other unions.
On
Sunday, John McNichol, the Convention Center's chief executive officer, said he
expected any protests Monday to be civil.
McNichol
said reforming the work rules would eventually help repair the Convention
Center's reputation and make it a more appealing destination for major
gatherings.
"People
come here, and they love our city, they love our restaurants, they love our walkable
streets," McNichol said. "The problem is the cost and the
hassle."
He said
unions were not to blame for all the complaints at center, citing management
problems last year, too. But taking on labor costs sends a message that the
Convention Center is prepared to evolve in order to attract more business, he
said.
Representatives
of the Carpenters and Teamsters did not return calls for comment Sunday.
Earlier, the Carpenters issued a statement that said: "The Carpenters will
do what is necessary to right this wrong and stand up for their members."
The two
locals belatedly agreed to the new work rules on Friday, but Convention Center
management rebuffed them. Officials said the unions missed a May 5 deadline to
accept the changes and said they would not revisit the issue.
The
unions contend they were misled about the deadline, which center management
said was not so.
As a
result, the Carpenters' and Teamsters' work will be divided among the unions
that agreed to the new rules - Laborers Local 332, Electrical Workers Local 98,
Stagehands Local 8, and Iron Workers 405.
The
center, which completed a $780 million expansion in 2011, has not met its
financial expectations. The expansion was supposed to help it draw up to 30
major conventions a year, but fewer than half that have been scheduled per year
through 2017.
Among the
new rules is one that will allow exhibitors to set up booths (up to 600 square
feet, double the present limit) with their own full-time employees instead of
the center's union workers. Another rule institutes a standard drug-testing
program for union workers.
Staff
writer Joseph N. DiStefano contributed to this article.
Source: Philly.com
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