Ron Curran knew since senior year of high school that
carpentry was his calling; he always wanted to work in construction and he was
good with his hands. And, after 26 years of working with the Carpenters Local 8
in the Pa. Convention Center, he finds himself out of a job and unable to pay
the bills that keep piling up in his mailbox after being shut out of work.
With two daughters in Catholic school to support, Curran
protested outside of the Convention Center on Wednesday along with his fellow
union members - and members of the Teamsters Local 107 - in an effort to regain
admission into the center.
“What’s going on today is unfair - it’s unfair to us, and
it’s unfair to our families,” said James Hocker, council representative at the
Metropolitan Regional Council of Carpenters. “Today’s protest is about
fairness. It’s about economic fairness and fair play. It’s about negotiating in
good faith, and not pulling a bait and switch at the last minute.”
The Carpenters Local 8 and the Teamsters Local 107 were shut
out of work at the Convention Center last month after failing to sign a new
customer satisfaction agreement by the 11:59 p.m. May 5 deadline.
"We set a deadline - a real, clearly communicated
deadline – for unions to sign on to new work rules that would enable us to
bring more shows to Philadelphia and create more work opportunities for union
workers," said Pete Peterson, spokesperson for the Pa. Convention Center
Authority. "To be clear, the [authority's] goal was to have all six unions
join the effort to bring about meaningful change. Four unions enthusiastically
signed the agreement because they knew it was the right thing to do for their
members, for the hospitality industry, and for the region as a whole. Two
unions chose not to sign the deal and are now not part of our customer
satisfaction agreement moving forward."
The Carpenters, however, said they delivered a signed copy
of the agreement on Friday, May 9, but the Convention Center said it was too
late, barring them from future work. The Carpenters argue that they believed
they had a contract extension after signing a collective bargain agreement
effective until Saturday, May 10.
"In management's own words, they said that it was
'their goal to have all six unions sign the customer satisfaction
agreement," Hocker said. "Well guess what - you accomplished that
goal. All six unions signed the customer satisfaction agreement, but management
still refuses to accept these signed documents from the Carpenters and
Teamsters."
Furthermore, Hocker said: "If all six unions signed the
customer satisfaction agreement, why are the Carpenters and Teamsters being
singled out and locked out of the Pa. Convention Center? Why are we not allowed
to do our jobs?"
Curran said he believes this was just an ulterior motive on
the Convention Center’s part in ousting the Carpenters once and for all.
The protest also focused on the the fact that union workers
only see a small chunk of the hourly markups at the Convention Center - markups
that "create an impression of higher labor costs," John Dougherty,
business manager of Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers, told Philly.com.
"We gave up the overtime, and they still continued to
bill it out. What we sacrificed to bring more business to the city never got
passed on to the end user," Curran said. "It’s triple what we make,
and if it was in the real construction world, the markup may be 15 percent to
18 percent, so for them to charge as much as they do is crazy."
Furthermore, when asked about the remaining four union
members crossing the picket line and doing their work at the Convention Center,
Curran said:
"They did what they had to do, but to cross a picket
line and then to go in and do our work is unheard of. Crossing the picket line
is bad enough, but to go in and do our work and the Teamster’s work is unheard
of. It makes you upset, and makes you want to do something violent."
Today's event looks to be just the start of a long line of
protests that will be held at the Convention Center until the two unions regain
admission.
"Today’s protest, along with future demonstrations,
will be peaceful," Hocker said. "But rest assured, we will notify
every show, exhibitor, attendee and the public at large about the injustice and
about this lockout at the Convention Center."
in response to being called a "lockout," Peterson
said: "It’s a legal term and the definition does not fit this case. A
lockout is involuntary on the part of a union. They voluntarily chose not to
become part of the Customer Satisfaction Agreement and in doing so removed
themselves from performing work at the center."
The antiquated work rules at the Convention Center placed
the city at a competitive disadvantage due to the restraints it placed on its
exhibitors, giving visitors a negative perception of the city. So, in an effort
to create a better work environment for its exhibitors, the center sought the
signature of its six union members. All but two - Carpenters and Teamsters -
signed the contract by the May 5 deadline.
The Convention Center is currently in the process of dealing
with the National Relations Labor Board after the Carpenters filed a charge
against the center, alleging a violation of a section of the National Labor
Relations Act that defines unfair labor practices.
Source: Philadelphia
Business Journal
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