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Union Industries show gone, probably for good

Date Posted: May 30 2008

DETROIT - The three-day Union Industry Show made a return engagement to Cobo Center May 16-18, showcasing services and products by organized labor.

It was a bittersweet event: scores of displays showcased union-made cars, clothing, glasses, and the good work of union Hardhats. But the event - which has taken place every year since it began in Cincinnati in 1938 (except during World War II) - likely ended its run with its visit to the Motor City this year.

"The 2009 show has been postponed, and I sincerely doubt that it will come back," Charlie Mercer, president of the AFL-CIO Union Label and Service Trades Department, told us on the show floor. "We have fewer exhibitors. So much of our work has gone offshore, and there have been so many mergers among unions. That has reduced the number of booths. Ending the show isn't definite, but it seems as if our board is going to look at better ways to promote union products."

Displays by building trades unions were a significant part of this year's show, as virtually all the crafts had a presence. Visitors to the free show also saw displays for a diverse number of products and services, from union-made knives, to the U.S. Postal Service, to Harley-Davison motorcycles, Kohler plumbing products, and SVS Vision.

This show was significantly smaller than the last time it came to Detroit, in 1995, when an estimated 300,000 visitors walked through Cobo's doors. Mercer said this show probably welcomed about 50,000 visitors, and featured about 125 vendors.

Mercer said the Executive Board which governs the show had some major beefs in 1995 with Cobo and its contractors over high costs associated with setting up the show - but not this time.

"Things have changed 180 degrees," Mercer said. "Detroit has gone out of its way to help us. Today the International Union wouldn't hesitate to consider Detroit for a convention. Everyone has gone out of their way to make sure it's a success."

THE 2008 UNION INDUSTRIES SHOW in Detroit attracted about 50,000 visitors. The Sheet Metal Workers Local 80 display in the foreground took up quite a bit of real estate at Cobo Center.
HEAT AND FROST Insulators Local 25 JATC Coordinator Steve Boyd and instructor Robert Ducker talk to visitors to their booth.