Democrats Sign PLA for Convention

June 13, 2016 
By Steven Wishnia and Neal Tepel

Philadelphia, PA – The Democratic National Convention Committee announced June 6 that it has signed an official project labor agreement with local trade unions for work at convention venues in Philadelphia.

The agreement requires convention organizers to hire unionized shops unless none can provide the service, and to pay construction workers, stagehands, entertainers, hotel workers, electricians, security guards, and custodians union-scale wages. It also prevents strikes during the convention, said Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO President Patrick J. Eiding. The agreement contrasts with the party’s 2012 convention, which many labor groups boycotted because it was held in Charlotte, N.C., in a state that is one of the nation’s least unionized and prohibits the union shop. “The DNC came here with their arms opened to the unions, and the unions certainly had their arms opened to them,” Eiding 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.” Read more