Showfloor Buzz – April 19, 2017

EACA Board Meets in Las Vegas at Exhibitor

The EACA Board of Directors held its first quarter meeting during the Exhibitor Show on Tuesday March 14.     Topics of discussion included:

  • Current status of labor negotiations taking place this year in Denver, Boston, and Las Vegas
  • EACA member renewal rate….currently at 85%
  • Status of the renewal of the EACA web site and Buyer’s Guide
  • Carpenters Eastern District Summit to discuss their new “Value-Added Initiative”

UBC Eastern District ‘Value-Added Initiative’

Twenty five members of the EACA attended the UBC Eastern District Summit Meeting at the Carpenters International Training Facility in Las Vegas during Exhibitor on the afternoon of March 14, 2017.  In addition to being greatly impressed by the Carpenters Training Facility, EACA members, as well as those in attendance from ESCA, were introduced to the Eastern District’s Value-Added Initiative.   The Value-Added Initiative will be comprised of:

  • Worker mobility within the District
  • Industry-specific training
  • Safety Training
  • Customer Service Training
  • Establishment of Drug Free Workplace

The next steps for making this initiative a reality will be the establishment of an AdHoc Committee to discuss and investigate the parameters and timelines for making the initiative a reality.   The VAI AdHoc Committee will be made up of members from the UBC, EACA and ESCA.

McCormick Place Contemplates New Security Procedures

Steve Georges, the new Directory of Security at McCormick Place, has been appointed by the MPEA to significantly upgrade security procedures at McCormick Place which will impact worker access to the showfloor for move-in and move-out.   The intention of the new worker access procees will be to create a single point of entry for workers at each of the 4 buildings at McCormick Place.   A test of this process was conducted at the In’tl Housewares Show at the South Building with the electricians, teamsters and riggers working for the general service contractor.

The results of this first effort are currently under review and will inform a potential second test of this process at the NRA show in 2 buildings with 4 trades that work for the general service contractor.

The EACA and ESCA have been in conversations with the building to design a system that will meet the needs of the security imperative while enabling the smoothest and most efficient process for getting approved workers in the building in a timely manner.

Chicago Chapter Meets / Discusses Re-Establishing Local Board

More than a dozen members of the Chicago Chapter met at McCormick Place on April 6 to discuss the re-establishment of Chicago Chapter activities including the empaneling of a new Board.     Those in attendance included members from Metro Exhibit Corp., On Location, Sho-Link, Alternative Tradeshow Services, Zenith LaborNet, Renaissance Management, Nth Degree, Lakeshore Exhibit Service, Xhibit Installation Partners, and Eagle Management.

EACA Executive Director, Jim Wurm, made a presentation to those in attendance on the status of the impending new McCormick Place Security procedures as well as new initiatives for EACA in 2017.