Carpenters busy building DNC village

Philadelphia’s carpenters union local, which had been banished from the Pennsylvania Convention Center, is getting a great deal of work at the Wells Fargo Center as part of the Democratic National Convention.  

As many as 200 union members have been working ever since May 31 when the Wells Fargo Center began preparing for the convention, said union political director Tricia Mueller.

“The conversations have been productive and cordial,” she said. “Even in places where we didn’t agree on certain things, there has been compromise and it’s been a very productive experience.”

Problems began when the carpenters union refused to sign a new customer service agreement with the Pennsylvania Convention Center. And  even though there were testy relations with some other unions as the carpenters were excluded from work at the convention center, Mueller said everything’s going smoothly in South Philly.

“It’s an opportunity for us to show our workforce and our skill set and it’s been very positive,” she said.

The carpenters have done everything from erecting tents for the media in the parking lot to clearing out luxury boxes for conversion into media skyboxes.