Conventions, McCormick Place, and convenient omissions

I was going to write a long piece about this, but as it is somewhat off-topic for the majority of readers, I’ll make this short.

There has been a lot of uproar over Chicago losing 2 large conventions to other cities.  Claims of outrageous charges for simple items, unfair union rules and costs, and the ever-popular refrain of “if this was a right-to-work state…” have been passed through the rumor mill and media once again.  The so-called “economic benefit to the region” has been cited over and over as a reason that these conventions are important.  Conveniently overlooked, however, is the driving force behind these conventions: making money.

No convention or trade show would exist if the organizers and exhibitors didn’t think they were going to make a profit from it.  Conventions are nothing more than giant advertisements for products, sometimes with classes, lectures, and “networking” thrown in to make them seem vital and important.  So no-one should be surprised that those that work on these conventions are asking for a cut of that cash.  No-one is going to volunteer their time to make some private company richer.

Now, does McCormick Place have some odd union rules or other labor issues?  Possibly. It certainly wouldn’t shock me, as those rumors have been going on for years.  But here’s the thing:  if everyone thinks that the existing union contracts suck, then why did management sign them? And if you, as an exhibitor, are paying to have X number of laborers move your things, and they aren’t doing it: don’t just stand there and complain after the fact, go find their f-ing steward and get them replaced.  You are paying them. If exhibitors would start complaining to McCormick Place and union management about some union members not doing their jobs AT THE TIME OF THE PROBLEM, you can bet that things would start to change.  Waiting until afterward doesn’t do you or the union management any good.  No union wants to have a reputation of coddling lazy or ignorant members, regardless of all the jokes to the contrary.

Plus, let’s look at one more possibility: Chicago just isn’t as much fun as Orlando or Vegas if you are only there for a convention, especially in the winter.  Orlando is family friendly, and Vegas is adult friendly.  Chicago is great and all, but if you are dropping some serious cash to attend or exhibit at a convention, it either has to be at a town with some relevance to the convention subject, or a place that is fun.  USITT at least roams around the country to show it’s attendees different theatres.  Why should any city assume they are getting the same conventions every year?

Regardless, those that are complaining about McCormick Place costs “suddenly” being the problem are only upset that they are going to lose money because of others wanting that money.  This isn’t as though someone is gouging the children’s hospital.  Everyone is simply looking for their cut of a profit-generating enterprise.  To pretend otherwise is lying to the public.

Tags: Chicago, convention, McCormick Place, stagehands, union

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 21st, 2010 at 9:10 am and is filed under Chicago, General, economy, history, movements, problems, union, vendors. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.