GMCS Editorial: And this is why we cannot
have nice things! While both sides at
the PCCA continue to openly air their grievances and use the media as a tool to
push their individual agendas, the world watches patiently and is ready, once again,
to vote with their dollars.
Sometimes, it’s just wiser to take a step
back, deal with these issues privately and not use every press opportunity as a
chance to paint the other side as the bad guy. We have so many great things to
talk about right now with the current labor/management situation at the PCCA.
Perhaps we should be taking these media opportunities to highlight the positives?
New York officials hoping to land the 2016 Democratic
National Convention are highlighting a labor dispute between a Philadelphia
union and the city’s convention center as evidence they're not ready to host
the convention.
A decision from the national party on where to hold its
nomination convention next year is down to Brooklyn, Philadelphia and Columbus.
But upsetting organized labor — a key bloc among Democrats — could have
problems.
On Saturday, protesters from Philadelphia’s Metropolitan
Regional Council of Carpenters protested at the city’s auto show, which is
being held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
"They were in the face of exhibitors,
they were in the face of our security," convention center President and
CEO John McNichol told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "They were belligerent.
They were just being generally disruptive."
The union denies they were being disruptive.
At issue is the union’s exclusion from a contract with
the convention center. The convention authority received a restraining order
against the union’s protesters — barring them from harassing visitors or
vandalizing display cars.
The convention center would host smaller aspects of the
Democratic National Convention were Philadelphia to be selected for the event.
The largest events would be held at the Wells Fargo Center, home to the
Philadelphia 76ers NBA team.
A leader of New York’s bid said Tuesday that the protest
showed that New York was better equipped to handle the convention.
“As we’ve said from the beginning of this process, New
York has an unmatched ability to stage large-scale, high-profile events,” said
Laura Santucci, who is heading up New York’s bid, in a statement. “From our
strong relationships with the City’s trade unions to our infrastructure to the
NYPD’s unrivaled security expertise, there is no better place to hold the 2016
Democratic National Convention.”
An official with the New York Hotel Trades Council, which
is working with the city to woo the convention, slammed the convention center’s
actions as “anti-union.”
"With Columbus lacking sufficient hotel rooms and
now Philadelphia filing for an anti-union restraining order against the blue
collar workers who would work at the DNC, it's time to pick Brooklyn,” said
Josh Gold, the union’s political director, in a statement.
"New York's claim that Columbus doesn't have enough
hotel rooms is entirely false," said Meredith Tucker, spokesperson for
Columbus 2016. "In fact, Columbus has over 26,000 hotel rooms where delegates
can afford to stay close to the convention sites."
Tucker also said the bid "is very proud of our
strong partnership with labor unions here and across the state" but
declined to directly comment on the events in Philadelphia.
A spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee
declined to comment. Officials from the Philadelphia and Columbus, Ohio, bids
did not respond to requests for comment.
The Democrats are expected to announce the site of the
convention in the next few weeks. Republicans will hold their convention in
Cleveland in July 2016.
The convention could be a financial windfall for the
chosen city and its hospitality sector. In addition to the money spent on
staging the convention itself, the event brings thousands of delegates, campaign
staffers and members of the media to the host city.
A 2013 study produced by the Charlotte, N.C., tourism
bureau found that the 2012 DNC in the city had resulted in $163.6 million of
direct and indirect spending in the area.
Source: The
Hill
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