Unions sign labor agreement for Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia

By Tracie Mauriello / Post-Gazette

June 7, 2016

The Democratic National Convention Committee has signed an official project labor agreement with local trade unions for work at convention venues in Philadelphia, a union-strong city that contrasts sharply with Charlotte, N.C., site of the party’s last nominating convention.

In 2012, many labor groups stayed away because they were angry that the party picked a host city in a right-to-work state that they said had too few unionized workers.

The convention committee announced the Philadelphia labor agreement Monday, saying the pact would benefit working families and taxpayers by ensuring quality work is completed on time and within budget.

“The labor community is a vital partner to our convention efforts and to our work in the Democratic Party,” said the Rev. Leah D. Daughtry, convention committee chief executive officer. “Their commitment to protecting the rights of workers and working families is reflective of the core principles our party will illustrate during the Democratic National Convention.”

The project labor agreement requires organizers to contract with unionized shops unless none can provide the service, and it prevents strikes during the convention, explained Patrick J. Eiding, president of the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO, who was involved in the negotiations.

“There’s not going to be any work stoppage, which I think is very important. The whole world is going to be looking at Philadelphia and we want it to go well,” he said.

Convention organizers said there was a similar agreement in place for the 2012 convention in Charlotte, but Mr. Eiding said it couldn’t have had much bite because there are so few union workers there.

“There was a lot of dissatisfaction with that whole issue there,” said Mr. Eiding, who was among the union leaders who boycotted the Charlotte convention. “There should have been more thought going into it.”

This time, he assures, there has been plenty.

“The DNC came here with their arms opened to the unions, and the unions certainly had their arms opened to them,” he said. “There’s an awful lot of work to be done and we just want that work to be done by Philadelphians and we want collective bargaining respected.”

That means construction workers, stagehands, entertainers, hotel workers, electricians, security guards, custodians and others will be paid a fair wage for their work at the convention, he said.

John J. Dougherty, business manager of the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council, said several hundred people covered by the agreement will work “seamlessly and around the clock to put together this amazing show in just seven weeks. We will make Philadelphia and the DNC extremely proud.”

The convention, the formal nominating event for Democratic candidates for president and vice president, will be held at the Wells Fargo Center from July 25 to 28.