GMCS Editorial: A person must always read a Philadelphia
Business Journal article with the understanding that the author knows little
about the subject matter for which that have been tasked to write about. From the very first article that they published
on this subject, they have misstated the facts and or information. For the first time we actually see forward
progress with the CSA and have support from some of the region’s more
progressive leaders. An opposing opinion
to one of those leader’s comments was sought out by the PBJ and provided by an
attorney that does not even list labor law as a Practice Area according to their website,
but that he is a “Construction, Infrastructure, and Development Attorney,
Sportsman, and Conservative Activist. Tea Party Patriot.” Very
balanced and informative reporting.
Thank you Philadelphia Business Journal for never failing to exceed our
expectations of mediocrity.
Our congratulations and sincere gratitude goes out to John McNichol, Bob Mclintock, Jack
Ferguson, Tony Wigglesworth, Ryan Boyer, John Dougherty, Mike Barnes and everyone involved
for working together as labor and management to advance this powerful economic
engine and our economic future.
Some say perception is reality, and that sentiment couldn’t
ring any truer when it comes to the battle between the Pennsylvania Convention
Center and its unions. With two strikes by the Carpenters Local 8 in the span
of 10 months, Convention Center management says that it's losing out on
bringing big expos — and millions in economic impact — to town.
“We know for a fact that our competitors are notifying
potential customers of this strike and reminding them that we have now experienced
two strikes within the span of one year,” Convention Center management said in
an open letter to its unions.
The number of conventions held in the city has been on a
steady decline for more than a decade, when citywide conventions hit a high of
27 in 2002, according to the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau. In
comparison, 20 conventions were held in 2013, and only nine conventions are
scheduled for 2017.
Convention Center management says the decline is due to the
center’s antiquated work rules, which place the city at a competitive
disadvantage to other major cities such as Boston, Chicago and Washington D.C.
Under the work rules, exhibitors were slapped with high costs and were
restricted from setting up their own booths.
“Large convention groups that cancelled or were lost due to
antiquated work rules at the convention center in years 2014 to 2017 would have
filled 925,000 hotel room nights and brought $1.3 billion in economic impact to
the city,” said Jack Ferguson, president and CEO of the Philadelphia Convention
& Visitors Bureau.
Furthermore, Ferguson says the work rules gave exhibitors a
negative work experience, which, in turn, gave them a negative perception of
Philadelphia.
“The No. 1 influencer of a meeting planner choosing a
destination is reaching out to peers who have been to the destination under
consideration,” Ferguson said.
Additionally, Kevin Gillen, an economist with the University
of Pennsylvania’s Fels Institute of Government, said Philadelphia was perceived
as a city “indifferent to outsiders at best and hostile at worst.”
“Part of the larger perception is that we are not as
welcoming to outsiders as other cities are,” he said.
For Gillen, outsiders have a view that Philadelphia, as a
city, is “incredibly myopic,” focusing on short-term success. In the
short-term, the city makes more money, but in the long-term, word catches on
that it gets expensive to hold conventions there, he said.
“It’s not anecdotal, it’s empirical,” Gillen said. “The
rules and cost of conventions here is definitely the result of negative
experiences here.”
So, in a move that would attract and retain exhibitors to
the city, the Convention Center proposed an updated “customer satisfaction
agreement,” expanding exhibitors’ rights. The new agreement gave exhibitors the
ability to use power tools and ladders to build booths up to 600 square feet in
size; use their own full-time employees (instead of union members); and perform
drug and alcohol tests. The agreement also allowed the center’s management to
choose experienced workers.
Four of the six unions agreed, but the the Carpenters Local
8 and Teamsters Local 107 did not. Now, they're in danger of being shut out of
the Convention Center entirely. And, unlike the past, the unions don't seem to
be sticking together.
"We'll do whatever it takes to make the center more
effective. We stand united with John McNichol [president and CEO of the
Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority]. We need the business; we need this
building packed," Ryan N. Boyer, business manager for the Laborers
District Council told Philly.com.
Given that not all union members are partaking in the same
actions, is it fair lump all unions into one category? Greg Stafford, president
of the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association, doesn’t think so.
“We need to recognize that there are many unions and union
leaders who recognize that we simple have to modernize,” Stafford said. “We
have to be competitive in business – competitive with other cities.”
Construction lawyer Wally Zimolong, on the other hand,
thinks otherwise.
“Make no mistake about it, the union culture is perpetuated
by all unions,” Zimolong said. The “carpenters aren’t outliers. They all engage
in the same activities in one form or another."
Convention Center management argues that the protests have
damaged the facility's reputation and ability to attract new business.
“The damage caused by this union's decision to strike is
immediate, far reaching and quantifiable by comparison with lost business
directly resulting from the previous strike this past summer,” the center said
in an open letter to its unions.
Not only is the Convention Center’s business affected, but,
as a leading driver of the city’s hospitality industry, everything from hotels,
restaurants, local boutiques and retail stores are affected too.
“Any time you have a loss like one of the shows deciding not
to come back, it causes a lot of ripple effects,” said Peter Peterson,
spokesman for the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority. “It’s not just the
center, it impacts the businesses that rely on the center.”
So what will it take to repair the city’s reputation? For
Ferguson, it’s about listening to what customers want: flexible work rules.
The Convention Center and SMG need to “focus on the future
and what the delivery is going to be like,” he said. This includes getting
“everybody on the same page – SMG, PACA, trade unions and the people working in
the buildings.”
Stafford told me that the Convention Center seems firm with
the agreement, and that it’s up to the Carpenters and Teamsters to decide
whether or not to join the other unions.
Source: Philadelphia
Business Journal
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