The Truth About Unions And Business Opportunities With The DNCC

A lot of rumors have flown in the last few weeks about how union workers are going to be shipped in from out of state to get convention work. . . or that contracts will only go to union shops. The stories have played on conservative blogs, Fox Business and Politico.

Sid Smith of the Charlotte Area Hotel Association is dealing with a big one: Rumor has it some hotels are going to furlough employees and bring in union labor for the convention.

Remember, none of Charlotte's hotels are unionized and that was a big concern early in the convention bidding.

But Smith says, "It would be totally impractical to bring in union workers from outside the state to work in hotels."

"They wouldn't know the facilities, they wouldn't know where anything is," adds Smith. "The quality of service wouldn't be there. It's just totally impractical, so it is not an issue as far as we're concerned. It is not gonna happen."

We spoke with general managers at two major Charlotte hotels who said the same thing - and added that union labor isn't even mentioned in the agreements they signed with the Democratic National Convention Committee - or DNCC.

But, like many rumors, these union concerns are based on a nugget of truth. The DNCC has a stipulation in its agreement with the Charlotte host committee that "all services, goods, equipment, supplies and materials" will be provided by union labor, to the extent it's available in the region.

But, the fact is only 4.9 percent of North Carolina workers are covered by a union contract - the lowest in the nation according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"I came here intentionally - and specifically -because North Carolina was a right to work state," says John Monteith, who moved to Charlotte from Canada in 1993.

Monteith is no fan of unions. Several months ago he took a job with a local print shop - Heritage Printing and Graphics - and set his sights on getting a piece of the DNCC's business. But he says no one would return his calls. Then he bumped into an executive with the host committee.

Monteith says the executive asked him if Heritage Printing was a "union shop."

"I said, 'No, I was not,'" recalls Monteith. "They asked me, 'Could I become a union shop?' I said, 'No, I could not.' They then proceeded to tell me that they had been told that unless I was a union shop, they could not accept my bid."

Now, a spokeswoman for the convention host committee says that executive "misspoke" and insists that all companies are encouraged to bid on convention business, regardless of union status. Priority goes to goods made in America, businesses based in the Carolinas, and those that are unionized or owned by minorities, women and veterans.

Monteith thinks city leaders and DNCC officials have given local businesses false hopes with all their talk about how great the convention will be for Charlotte's economy:

"The DNC needs to just say, 'Look guys, we've got affiliations with the union, we get millions of dollars in donations from them, and it's our prerogative,'" says Monteith.

The DNCC and Charlotte host committee both declined to do taped interviews, but here are a few of the points they make. First, the DNCC will make at least $37 million in contracts to put the convention on, but businesses can also go after the millions that will be spent by delegates and other organizations participating in the event. The convention organizers have set up an online vendor directory to help make those business connections.