PLENARY SMG at McCormick Place Q Delta Goes Pink Q Midwest Haunters Convention
INDUSTRY NEWS
SMG Takes the Reins — and the Labor History — at McCormick Place
A
T THE END OF APRIL, CONVENTION- center and venue-management company SMG was chosen by Chicago’s Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA) to operate McCormick Place — which, with 2.6 million square feet of exhibit space, instantly became the largest facility that SMG manages.
Of course, McCormick Place isn’t just big
— it’s also complex, especially when it comes to union issues. In June 2010, the Illinois state legislature passed a package of labor reforms
designed to make McCormick Place more competitive. But this summer, a federal judge struck down those reforms, ruling that they violated the unions’ collective-bargaining agreements. In a recent interview with Convene,
McCormick Place General Manager David Causton — who has been GM at the facil- ity since 2004, and has continued in his role under SMG’s new management — said that the response to the ruling is proceeding down three “railroad tracks” simultaneously. The first track, Caus-
ton said, is to appeal the ruling. The second is to negotiate directly with the unions, to convince them that the labor reforms are in their best interest.
continued on page 34 GROUP SHOT
A Good Cause Takes Off
DELTA’S PINK PLANE: Keep an eye to the sky this month —
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
— for Delta Air Lines’ pink Boeing 767-400,
now in its second year of operation. On board the pink plane, as well as on other Delta
LARGE SCALE: With 2.6 million square feet of exhibit space, McCormick Place is the largest facility that management company SMG operates.
THERE’S A MEETING FOR THAT? Freak Show
MIDWEST HAUNTERS CONVENTION (MHC): Just in time for Halloween, we scared up a terrifyingly fun batch of photos from MHC 2011, which convened at the Greater Columbus Convention Center and the Hyatt Regency Columbus on June 1–5. The country’s largest show for “haunted-attraction producers, actors, artists, and home haunters,” MHC offered the Haunted Attraction Association Masquerade Party (1), makeup workshops (2), the Black-Light Body Art Fashion Show (3), and a 60,000-square-foot exhibit hall jammed with ghoulish wares (4). For more information, visit www.MidwestHauntersConvention.com.