The Carpenters union have launched a website.

The Carpenters union have launched a website.

One of the unions that are embroiled in a battle against the Pennsylvania Convention Center has launched a website to get the word out.

The Metropolitan Regional Council of Carpenters launched FairDealPhilly.com in an attempt to spread the news about their being barred from work at the Convention Center since last May.

"It's a tool to get the message out that the lockout is illegal and unfair. It's a social media tool," said Carpenters spokesman Marty O'Rourke. "It's one of the social media tools the Carpenters will now be employing to get the message out, not only in Philadelphia, but the country."

The Carpenters will continue their protests until "this injustice is resolved," O'Rourke said, adding that the union will take to other outlets, such as Twitter and Facebook, to get the word out.

Check out the website here.

Issues with Convention Center and the city's marketing agencies

The website talks about ongoing issues it's had with the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority (PCCA), including its mark-up prices as well as City Controller Alan Butkovitz's study that found consolidating the city's destination marketing organizations would save money.

"Don't be fooled by the Convention Center's hi-dollar [sic] PR spin specialists," the website reads.

But they've also gone beyond the PCCA and targeted the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB), the Convention Center's primary sales and marketing agency, and Visit Philadelphia, the city's marketing agency on the leisure side.

"The Pennsylvania Convention Center cost taxpayers over $1.3 billion to build. Each year, taxpayers pony up an estimated $49 million to help finance the center's operations and pay for two tourism and hospitality groups that have been accused of duplicating services — and not attracting sufficient numbers of conventions to Philadelphia each year," the website reads.

Visit Philadelphia officials said it was inappropriate to comment on the situation given that it doesn't operate in the Convention Center, but said to focus on Butkovitz's report, which said leisure numbers have seen consistent growth. (The study found that lagging convention, business and international performance is a cause for concern.)

The Carpenters make a mention of the agency's former chief financial officer allegedly embezzling $210,000. Calls to the District Attorney's Office said the investigation is ongoing.

"After the Carpenters leadership's frivolous claims were rejected by both the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board and the National Labor Relations Board, they launched a propaganda website filled with errors," said spokesman Pete Peterson. "The Carpenters aren't locked out — their leadership freely and willingly chose not to sign the new agreement that would have provided employment for their members. Unfortunately, the people suffering from the union leadership's poor decision are the rank-and-file carpenters. The Carpenters' members don't have to buy into the false stories created by their leadership."

Cost to do work at the Convention Center

The cost to hold conventions was one of the major disadvantages of the Convention Center. New work rules put in place last year was in response to that. The Convention Center have since reported record booking numbers as a result of the new work rules.

The Carpenters aren't convinced.

"The Convention Center's legal and PR spin machine brags about getting conventions that were coming to Philadelphia anyway," the website reads. "But the PR specialists won't tell you [that] it now costs more to put on shows in Philadelphia because it takes the unskilled replacement workers twice as long to do the work of locked out union Carpenters."

Since two unions — the other being the Teamsters Local 107 — are barred from working from the Convention Center, their work has been divided among the remaining unions.

The meeting planner for the Infectious Diseases Society of America, which held its IDWeek convention last October, however, said she expects positive numbers to come out.

"Although 2014 financials have not been finalized and we are unable to give a dollar amount at this time, in reviewing our overall expenses in general categories that include union labor compared to 2009 and adjusting for inflation, it appears labor expenses were reduced, having a positive impact on our budget," Sandra Vura Harwood, vice president of meetings and education, wrote in a letter to the PHLCVB and given to the Philadelphia Business Journal.

Also, Harwood wrote: "As far as the quality of the labor, the Stagehands were fantastic and most of the general labor representatives were very good. The audio/visual labor, specifically supervisors, adjusted quickly to any changes that we requested."

The website is just one of the few ways the Carpenters will get the word out on their situation. They've also launched a Facebook page and will be taking to Twitter in the near future, O'Rourke said.

Source: Philadelphia Business Journal