AFL-CIO head John Sweeney, Gov. Bill Ritter and Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper agreed Monday to work together to overcome union concerns about holding the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver.
Sweeney met with Ritter and had a second meeting with Hickenlooper to discuss issues that have complicated plans for the convention, including a lack of union hotels.
“I really am very optimistic that not just the hotel issue but that many of these issues related directly to the convention – that every effort will be made to resolve them,” Sweeney said.
“My goal is to keep listening and working to find that common ground, and whatever issues they raise, I will try to address to the best of my ability,” Hickenlooper said.
Sweeney refused to talk about “what- ifs” when asked if union workers might picket during the convention if their demands aren’t met.
The Hyatt Regency at the Colorado Convention Center is the only city hotel where workers have a union and are negotiating for a contract. There is no guarantee that there will be an agreement between the hotel’s management and the union before the 2008 convention.
Union delegates, who will make up a substantial portion of the Democratic delegates attending the convention, try to stay at union hotels.
Hyatt managers have said they intend to reach an agreement with Unite Here, the union representing the hotel workers, before the convention, Ritter said at a media conference following the meeting.
The Democratic National Committee’s choice of Denver as the site for the convention has highlighted some long-standing union grievances. The stagehands objected to Democrats’ holding the event at the non- union Pepsi Center and unsuccessfully called for it to be moved to the Colorado Convention Center.
The head of the local and national stagehands unions, the Teamsters, the building and trade unions, Unite Here and other unions attended the meeting, Ritter spokesman Evan Dreyer said.
About 186,000 Colorado workers, 8.6 percent of the state’s workforce, are represented by unions. Organized labor in the state has struggled to get traction on its agenda in recent years, but union leaders saw hope that the election of Ritter, a Democrat, coupled with Democratic majorities in the state legislature, would change their fortunes.
But Ritter vetoed a pro-labor bill that would have made it easier for unions to organize. Sweeney and Ritter said they discussed the bill.
“I don’t think people came away feeling differently than when they entered the room this morning. But we talked about it. And most of the rest of the meeting was spent looking forward about how we deal with other working-family issues,” Ritter said.
Staff writer Jeri Clausing contributed to this report.
Staff writer Tom McGhee can be reached at 303-954-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com.
