The Unions
I know Unions get a lot of flack, but I realize they are an important part of many people’sĂ‚Â livelihood.
My gripe with the unions is that while they are well-trained and do a nice job, their contracts with the expo centers tend to be a hassle for the exhibitor when it comes to small stuff.
For instance, at a recent trade show about 20 boxes of supplies were delivered to the hotel and not the show floor. We stuck all the boxes, which were heavy, on one of those luggage carriers. We pushed it down the hallway to the entrance of the exhibit hall where we were stopped by security who said that we had to hire a union guy to move it the rest of the way. There was a two-hour wait for the workmen and a minimum charge of one hour or $75. Moving the cart from the entrance to the booth would have taken less than five minutes.
We would be allowed to carry the boxes, one by one, in ourselves; but we couldn’t use the cart. We had to lift one box at a time so it took two of us about a half hour to move the boxes in ten trips. We were nice and sweaty by the time the exhibit hall opened for business.
Moral of the story? I’m not sure. Maybe make sure your boxes get delivered to the right place?
