Well it’s happened again, a big trade show announces it’s leaving the city of Chicago and the Media and Mayor point the finger at the workers and how much money they make as if that’s the problem. Mayor Daley never mentions the cuts labor has already taken over the last 10 years to try to work with him and the Show Producers; like giving up double time for time and a half or the cut in crews from three to two in the case of Machinery Movers. Instead of acknowledging the real problems; the Mayor stands in front of the cameras crying about the workers obstinance and how they should be willing to do more to keep these shows in town.

Here is something most people don’t know. When the Plastics Show or any big machinery show leaves Chicago; the very workers who Daley blames for the loss of the show, will be flown in by the show producer to work in the other venue. You might ask yourself, “If they bring labor from Chicago and have to provide them with room and board and mileage wouldn’t that make it more expensive for labor in the new venue?” Yes it would. Then why is labor being blamed?

First of all, it’s easy. Everyone can tell you a horror story about having to pay multiple hundreds of dollars to pay an electrician to just plug in an electrical plug. Do you know why that is by the way? The Electricians at McCormick place work for McPier. That means they work for the city and state not for the show producers. In 1967 McCormick place burnt down. The official report put the blame on faulty wiring. It was found that most of the electrical wiring for the booths did not follow electrical safety standards. The report brought changes to the Chicago Municipal Code based on the lessons learned from the McCormick Place Fire. That’s why only electricians are allowed to do the wiring at the hall and why it is the toughest standard to meet in the world.

I wanted to give some background so people could see that the building trades in Chicago are not the reason the shows are leaving. As a matter of fact the labor here is the best at putting huge shows in faster and with less damage and injury than anywhere else in the world. That’s why the Riggers and Carpenters and others will follow the show to the new venue.

Why then are the shows leaving? It’s the cost alright. It’s not the cost of labor it’s the cost of Chicago! It’s the cost of hotel rooms and food and taxies and parking. Look at the taxes the Mayor has imposed on these areas. It is the Mayor who could help to keep these trade shows here by lowering prices at McCormick place for parking and food.  The taxes on the cost of the booth and services have raised the costs significantly. It is the Democrat way of governing; stick it to the people with the money! That’s what costing Chicago these shows. Why don’t the labor leaders say something then?

The labor leaders have learned to do as they are told and keep their mouths shut. If the Mayor wants to make an example of your union or job the media will fall in line and you’ll be lucky to survive. This same thing happened in 1997; again the Mayor blamed labor for shows leaving and isolated two local unions, the Riggers and the Decorators.

After attacking the locals in the papers for a month Daley went to the General Assembly to void their contracts. The Mayor even hired former Republican Governor Jim Thompsons firm to lobby against the two small locals. It was the locals against all of the resources of the state, all they had to lobby with were their own members. They went to Springfield to lobby for their jobs. The General Assembly under Mike Madigan, a Democrat and “friend of labor” went along with the Mayor.

If that wasn’t enough and to show how much big labor is in the pocket of the Mayor, the AFL-CIO and Chicago Federation of Labor sided with Daley over these two small locals giving cover to the Democrats. The Riggers and Decorators lost the vote in the democratically controlled General Assembly by 36 votes. It was the Republican Senate, run by Pate Phillip that saved the jobs of the Journeyman workers. The very party the unions called anti working man saved the jobs of those trade union members by voting to not overturn the contract by one vote.

None of the other McCormick place or city unions missed the fact that the Mayor had almost wiped out these locals, and even though they won in Springfield the Riggers and Decorators did give the mayor their double time and the smaller work crews he was demanding. Every union at McCormick place has given concessions. The only entity that hasn’t is McPier! As I pointed out before McPier is the State and City and since both are controlled by Democrats that is the Mayor.

He has enclosed McCormick place and made it so it’s almost impossible to leave. Your booth space is miles from parking or taxi drop off areas. Once inside it’s like being at the airport, prices are through the roof, you have to buy everything inside where contracts are pay to play, everyone gets their cut. Everything is over priced and aimed at squeezing every dime out of exhibitors, attendees and now more and more the workers. The bigger McCormick Place gets the more control the city has over the costs and the more expensive it gets. So if we want to keep these shows here in Chicago Mr. Mayor CUT TAXES!

Make it a more exhibitor friendly place again. Cut the hotel, the entertainment and the restaurant taxes and instead of demeaning labor use it to our advantage. Advertise the fact that we have the most highly trained, best skilled, safest tradesmen; who have proven themselves time and time again. Show after show, they have proven that they can bring in and send out the largest shows in weight and area in the world. And that they can do it faster, safer with less damage than anyplace in the world. If you Mr. Mayor do that, these shows and more will come back.

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Jim Leahy is a Third Generation Machinery Mover (Rigger) for Riggers Local 136 and a regular correspondent for the Chicago Daily Observer

image Original McCormick Place, 1960