San Mateo Event Center To Be More Union-Friendly

After two years of meetings and negotiations with union representatives, the San Mateo Event Center has agreed to encourage customers who rent space at the center to use union labor. The Expo Center is a 48-acre event facility with seven indoor buildings that hosts hundreds of events each year. Along with the Annual San Mateo County Fair, the Center hosts trade shows, product launches, ride & drives, concerts, social gatherings, and corporate meetings.

Businesses and organizations that rent space at the Event Center will receive a letter stating, “If your arrangements require the use of labor, we suggest you consider contacting our local union affiliates.”

Those union affiliates are the Theatrical Stage Workers (IATSE Local 16), Teamsters Local 85, Hotel Workers (UNITE HERE Local 2), Electrical Workers (IBEW Local 617), Musicians Local 6, and Sign & Display Local 510.

IATSE Local 16 Business Representative Eddie Raymond said that his union provides workers for the County Fair as well as other events. The workers handle lighting, audio visual services, rigging, set-up and scenery installation for events. The contract for the Fair is negotiated each year, with other contracts on an event basis. “We’ve been trying to get a contract to cover our work there for years,” Raymond said. IATSE has been trying to win a longer term contract for the County Fair and a contract for the Event center itself. He said that negotiations began moving when the San Mateo Labor Council got involved and other interested unions began meeting with Event Center Management.

“We want to make sure that the work is done under the proper conditions and for a living wage,” Raymond said. “The best way to ensure that is through our unions.”

Raymond credited SMCLC Executive Secretary-Treasurer Shelley Kessler as “the catalyst to get everyone together.” He said the effort “demonstrated how collegial the Labor Council is under Shelley’s leadership, and that unions with diverse points of view can come together for a common interest. It wasn’t going anywhere before that.”

Despite resistance to unionizing its workforce on a more permanent basis, the Events Center management does tout the value of using union labor in its letter to customers:

“We have a long and successful history of working together with the Unions and many of our clients who choose to use union labor have expressed the exceptional services offered by the Unions, to include the following:

• Professional skilled labor. The union labor work force consists of certified and trained employees.

• Efficiency. We have clients who have found Union workers know how to get the job done more efficiently and effectively—requiring less time to do the job than unskilled labor.

• Individual relationships. Consistent work force provides for smooth setup and tear down.

• There is a large pool of local signatory employers who can handle all of your event needs.

The unions would appreciate your consideration for the opportunity of developing a relationship with you and your organization,” the letter states. Customers will receive a list attached with contact information and a brief description of the work performed by the union affiliates.