PHILADELPHIA
The Pennsylvania Convention Center announced on May 2 that Carpenters Union Local 8 has signed an extension of their collective bargaining agreement through May 10, ending a brief strike by the union.
The Center is currently placing labor calls to fulfill its needs in the coming days and expects members of the Carpenters Union to be back performing work in the building within the next few hours. Carpenters are expected to assist with the move out of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), a citywide convention of 13,000 attendees that is expected to generate a $35 million economic impact for the region.
“Going forward, all of the stakeholders at the Center need to work together to make the facility more competitive and attractive to customers,” said Gregory J. Fox, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority. “Our board has focused on four key initiatives to help drive new business, including professionalizing management and operations of the Center, putting in place an improved labor-supplier model, improving billing transparency for customers and modernizing work rules. If we are able to accomplish these initiatives, we can help fulfil the promise of the Center to generate new jobs and economic investment in the city and region.”
In the 2012-13 Fiscal Year, the Center hosted 226 events with 1.1 million planners, attendees and exhibitors, resulting in a $728 million regional economic impact. The Convention Center is the number one driver of the region's hospitality industry. When the Center hosts an event, attendees drive business at the region's hotels, restaurants, retailers and attractions which helps to support more than 88,000 regional jobs.
Besides the Carpenters, other trade unions that operate at the Convention Center include Laborers’ International Local 332; Stagehands Local 8; IBEW Local 98; Teamsters Local 107; and Iron Workers Local 405.
The Pennsylvania Convention Center is located in Philadelphia. Now managed by SMG, the Convention Center recently underwent a $787 million renovation and expansion, making it the 14th-largest facility in the nation and providing it with the largest exhibit space and ballroom in the Northeast.
