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DNC host group seeks union input

Joanne Kelley, Rocky Mountain News

Published April 14, 2007 at midnight

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The local host committee for the 2008 Democratic National Convention has asked union leaders to recommend multiple candidates to serve on a "labor outreach" panel that will work on union issues.

"The situation is delicate so we'd like input," Denver Host Committee CEO Mike Dino said. "It's just a matter of getting buy-in from the labor community on who they'd like to see" in those positions.

At meetings with convention officials this week, labor leaders questioned why unions had no voice in the planning process for next summer's confab. They also laid out their concerns about the labor climate in Denver.

Mayor John Hickenlooper, who met with labor leaders Thursday to discuss their concerns, characterized the tone of those talks as "very positive."

"We made a lot of progress," Hickenlooper said, as he arrived at the Colorado Convention Center with Gov. Bill Ritter to appear before a group of local leaders. "It's a question of letting everyone be heard."

Ritter, who missed the talks because he was out of town Thursday, said he has been involved in "a host of conversations" with the local labor movement recently.

"Everybody wants to see this thing happen - and happen without incident," Ritter said of the convention, which will be held Aug. 25-28, 2008.

Hickenlooper said he "didn't see any huge problems" to resolve with the local labor community."

He pointed to Colorado's recent boost in the minimum wage as a positive development for workers.

Tensions have mounted in recent months in part because of the scarcity of union hotels in the area. The Pepsi Center, where the convention will be held, also lacks a union representing workers.

Hickenlooper indicated that he could play a role in speeding up contract negotiations involving the city's only unionized hotel, the Hyatt Regency Denver.

"We can't drive that," Hickenlooper said. "We can help accelerate that. We can create avenues for discussion."

Hyatt General Manager John Shafer said his team has been "working through the process" of negotiating a labor contract for hotel employees. He estimated an agreement could be reached "in the next two months."

An official with Unite Here, the group that represents Hyatt workers, could not be reached for comment.

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