My finance view

There were chains and padlocks on most of the doors of the America’s Center Monday, and security guards at the one that was still open. There was the prospect of pickets under the marquee on Washington Avenue and of a work stoppage by all union labor at the convention center.

This, it would seem, is not the image of St. Louis that anyone wants visiting conventioneers to take away when they come to the Gateway City.

Yet it is what loomed Monday, when the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission tossed out three of its America’s Center unions in the latest twist of a long-simmering labor dispute.

The CVC and the unions — which represent audiovisual workers at the center — have been negotiating for 16 months over new work rules. The CVC says the new policies would cut costs and improve customer service, boosting America’s Center’s odds of landing major conventions. But the labor groups say they’re union-busting, plain and simple, and have fought hard against many of the proposals.

For months, the talks have been on-and-off, but they stalled again last week when a meeting with a third-party mediator when nowhere, both sides said.

This time, the CVC decided it had had enough, said president Kathleen "Kitty" Ratcliffe, and board members voted to enact a new agreement without the unions’ approval. So until they reach a deal, there’ll be no union AV workers in America’s Center.

"We would have preferred it not get to this point," Ratcliffe said. "But we feel like we had no other choice."

Officials from the three unions had no comment Monday. One said they were planning a response.

The move affects about 100 people, though the work varies depending on the size of a convention, from three unions: the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Locals 6 and 143, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 1. They install equipment and wiring, build stages, run projectors and perform other tasks for the dozens of events that pass through America’s Center each year, typically through labor brokers that conventions must hire.

The CVC wants to cut out those brokers, employ the AV techs directly, and end some practices it says that drive up the cost of labor online payday advance.

How the unions respond may hinge on how many other unions support them.

America’s Center has deals in place with three other labor groups — locals from the Teamsters, Carpenters and Decorators and Displaymen — and if they walk out, too, it could prove difficult to hold a convention here, said Dan McKay, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 600.

"I’m just wondering where they think they’ll get the people," McKay said. "My people are not going to cross picket lines."

But Terry Nelson, executive secretary of the St. Louis Carpenters District Council, said he has a "great relationship" with the CVC, and has 12 members working there full-time. They won’t walk, he said. As for larger jobs, well, he’s hoping it doesn’t get that far.

"Hopefully, this gets resolved before I get sucked into it," Nelson said.

Most shows are booked years in advance, so the dispute likely won’t affect convention business in the short term, said Jack Cancila, who heads the Hospitality and Food Service Management Program at St. Louis University. But if convention-goers feel uncomfortable crossing a picket line, or AV technology doesn’t work, it could hurt the city’s image for a long time to come.

"If word gets back that we’re a mess and we have labor strife, that definitely would not be a good long-term thing," Cancila said. "It may cause problems now that we may not see for years down the road."

The next big meeting at America’s Center starts Monday, when 1,500 members of the Parents as Teachers National Center come to town. By then, Ratcliffe said, the padlocks will be off the doors.

Whether there are AV techs picketing outside remains to be seen.

tlogan@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8291

Source