Convention Center Exhibitors Say Flower Show Running Smoothly Under New Union Rules
By Steve Tawa
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- As the Philadelphia Flower Show continues its week-long run, exhibitors are remarking how smoothly everything is going, with the new union work-rules in place.
Many of the vendors in the Marketplace portion of the Flower Show say they were able to put up their own booths, up to 600 square feet, without union labor.
Scott Kremp of Kremp Florist in Willow Grove, which has had booths in the show for 39 years, says prior to the changes they had to use unionized crews to set up and tear down booths.
"So, in our eyes, you didn't really need two people," he says. "One person could do it very easily."
But he was okay with that, adding, "We never had any issues. We worked together pretty well, and we set it up to make it as easy as possible."
For the larger exhibits, such as the 1,200-square-foot one with a "Finding Nemo Underwater Adventure" theme, by J. Downend Landscaping of Ridley Township, operations manager Tom Morris says the union help was just that -- helpful, unlike previous years.
"None of us can put our finger on it, but it actually was dealing with a lot of very pleasant people," he says.
Morris says when he asked for something from the union folks, no one acted like it was a chore or an unwelcome task.
"They worked as if it was their exhibit, and that was fantastic."
