TABS On the Job
 

Here I am HARD at work. I guess I was snoring so loudly that they just had to take a picture. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1161319506.jpg

Where do you work?

I ahhh have a very part time job working for a company called Design Factory. They put up the Booths at Conventions. I do the PU and Delivery of the Booths. Today I was doing an Advance Delivery to the Freeman Warehouse in LV (they put it into storage and deliver to the Convention Center). Sometimes I have to wait many hours to get loaded or unloaded.

My neighbors own the business and knowing me thought I would be perfect for it. So they asked me if I wanted a job... in other words this job found me...

BTW I showed my Boss this picture....

And.... What did your boss say? :)

Wait, you're in Vegas. You shouldn't have to wait very long at all to get loaded...

They were surprised that I finished my assignment so quickly. They laughed when I showed them the picture.

Looking good tabs !

Sandals and white tube socks the latest thing in Vegas then ??

I was going to ask "where's your TSA uniform?" but I guess you cleared that up...

tabs, my hero! :D

Ah yes, and the fridge is never out of reach.

Sweet. It costs about $1,000 to bring a minimum (10 X 20') booth into the LVCC from the loading dock 300' away. We're doing that now for a client company going to SEMA.

Union extortion at its ugliest.

Tech:

I was planning on exhibiting at a Realtor convention in New Orleans next month.... that is, until I started learning what the additional "fees" would be. Didn't take me long to figure out they would be better off without me there stirring up trouble.

The teamsters have most major venues locked up. I understand the worst is McCormick Place in Chicago. If you're responsible for a booth setup, you bring a pocketful of $50s.

I was with Memorex at a show in New York in '76. The electrical union people saw a product manager touch an electrical cord. The next morning when the show started, every electrical cord in the entire booth was cut. Memorex was there to display mainframe disk drives (large, expensive items at the time). Couldn't fire up a single one.

First Pluto, and now Tabs has a job?

I need my blanky. NOWWWWWWW :(

Well today I was back in the same chair, but wasn't there long enough to take a nap. I was deliverying for ther SEMA show.

Looks more like a "visualization/meditation session" preparing yourself for the next mission. I just read an article in a mag that said there are actual businesses in downtown NYC and several large airports where you pay to take a nap. Have you reached Buffet Ninja status yet?

Nothing is as bad as the Javits Center here in NYC. We were sliding an engine over about a foot during a show, to make a little room . A union guy saw us, ran over and basically wanted to toss us out for not notifying them about the "move".

I'm shocked and horrified.....and filing a grievance.

Any minute now, Supe will come in and tell us:

...that overpaying for what should take two guys one hour and instead takes six guys twelve hours (unless you bribe them) is really about showing laborers respect.

...that being forced to hire lazy, overpaid, underworked persons to perform extremely simple tasks (like moving an engine one foot) that one should be able to perform oneself is really about ensuring that "experts" keep us safe.

...that having your display sabotaged because you did not follow the above guidelines is justified.

:rolleyes:

:confused:

Oh yeah, used to do e3 at Staples every year. You want something done you better have cash. My "petty" cash would run $500-$1000 per day.

One day we needed some stuff back at our hotel and we needed it in a hurry. No time to find the union guys to carry it outside.

We pulled a van up to a side door and went to our booth the back way. Loaded stuff up on dollies and rolled it out of there.

We made it all the way outside and were loading the van when some guy on a forklift sees us.

Next thing you know we are surrounded by 4 or 5 really big dudes who seemed to pop up right out of the ground.

One guy in our party thought it was a good idea to try and reason with them, he learned that was a bad idea.

We threw some cash on the ground, they let go of our guy and we got the hell out of there as fast as we could.

Scott

You're famous!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1161527831.jpg

I can confirm this from my CES in Chicago days. A special electrical cord was $350 cash. On the spot.

Last year, we made the decision to skip the floor at the LVCC for WCES in January & get 5 suites at the Hilton. We saved $200K. Our shipping bill the previous year - from Freeman to floor & back - was $19K.

Our setup staff has often paid for the obligatory electricians/union setup etc & just had them sit there because they are always more trouble than worth.

Shows are a big racket.

Ian

What a bunch of Pansies U boyz are...afraid of a bunch of Teamsters..LOL They seen U coming

U boyz probably walk thorugh in your Ralph Lauren or Dockers with loafers carrying a Girlie Mans Purse...Now if you walk around in a pair of faded jeans, a tee shirt, while chomping on a Cigar...no one bothers U

Had a company years ago in the tradeshow registration business. I know all the union stories from the major halls (McCormick vs. Javitts is a toss up - but Cobo (Detroit) also really sucked).

Best disguise: Pudgy guy in an ill-fitting suit, carry a motorola radio. You can walk through any door, carry any item, plug in any light - IF one of the union guys looks at you, just say "show staff".

If I never exhibit at a major trade show again I won't shed a tear.

I agree. Free pass to any show floor.

Ian