Trade Show

Trade Show News

By Jeff Skillman 206-459-9035 9/15/05

Tradeshow work is starting to ramp up for September, October, November and

December. The last couple of weeks of December tend to be quiet but with

the coming of the New Year it starts to get busy again. During these months

there will be periods of 2-4 days when there will be a need for a great many

hands. The last 2 weeks of October and the first 3 weeks of November will be

especially busy with tradeshows such as Coffeefest, Auto Show,

Supercomputing and Fish Expo to name a few. The Tradeshow contractors tend

to have a list of tradeshow-experienced hands from which they choose. Under

the Tradeshow contract the contractors have the right to call 50 workers by

name per day for the field calls and 20 by name per day for their warehouse

calls. If they so choose, they can request Tradeshow dispatch to fill any

or all of those calls but generally they choose the majority of those

workers. After those calls (70 workers total) Tradeshow dispatch then calls

off the out-of-work list, starting with Qualified Journeyman aka QJM (a JM

who has completed the 40 hours of required tradeshow classes plus 10 more

hours of supplemental classes). After the QJM list is exhausted then

dispatch alternates betweens JM and apprentice.

Here is a list of suggestions to help one find work in the tradeshow field:

1) Put your name on the tradeshow out-of-work list by calling 1-800-

953-6444. Dave Christenson and Maribel Martinez are the dispatchers.

You need to update your name on the out-of-work list every 14 days.

If you are scheduled for a call and you are unable to make that call

you need to call dispatch and cancel or if it is after hours call

Jeff Skillman at 206-459-9035, otherwise you will be listed as a no show,

two no shows and you could be a "Do Not Send" for that contractor.

2) Take some Tradeshow classes. Orientation is a good first class.

This will give one a basic understanding of the methods, equipment

used and terminology. By taking these classes one will be meeting

trainers who, most probably, are foremen, leads and, in some cases,

contractors. It's important to get one's face and abilities known.

These classes are listed in the Carpenters Training News which are

available at all Carpenter locals.

3) The Tradeshow worker is often the person most visible to the

exhibitor and/or show management. This makes it a good idea to

show up in a presentable manner. The Tradeshow industry is #1 a

customer service industry and our intent is to have those customers

coming back as repeat business.

4) Show up for your call in a timely manner, ready to work and with

your tools. The Tradeshow carpenter's tool list is not lengthy so

here it is: side cutters, utility knife, ARROW JT-21 staple gun,

screwdrivers (Phillips and straight blade), slip joint pliers, 25'

tape measure, hammer, Allen wrenches (5mm, 1/4" and 1/8"),

tool pouch, carpet loop pile cutter, a pen (to fill out

paperwork), an adjustable wrench, a ratchet

with sockets-7/16", 9/16", 4mm allen, 5mm allen, and a Torx 30.

Also recommended is a cordless drill motor -a battery should come

with that.

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