Illinois Democrats, union leaders sign labor agreement for 2024 DNC

CHICAGO (WAND) — The nation's top Democratic leaders have reached an agreement with labor organizations to ensure the city of Chicago will only use union workers for projects related to the 2024 Democratic National Convention.

Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson joined DNC Chair Jaime Harrison and labor leaders Tuesday morning in a commitment to use union labor for their largest political event next summer. Pritzker and Johnson said the DNC will show the world that Chicago is a strong union town.

"This is the best city in America," Pritzker said. "And honestly, people know how to work together to get something big done like this."

The DNC labor agreement includes ten unions, from the Teamsters and SEIU to electrical workers and hotel employees. Johnson said the agreement will provide good-paying jobs in communities across the Windy City.

"Understanding the history of Black liberation through the lens of unionism, Chicago is profoundly connected to that," Johnson explained.

While the vast majority of time will be spent at the United Center and McCormick Place, DNC leaders noted that they picked Chicago due to strong union support. This is also the fastest the DNC has been able to reach an agreement with labor groups.

"Winning the convention required beforehand, before we knew who the winner was, for the cities to get their business communities and unions at the table discussing how we're gonna make this work," Pritzker said.

Johnson said he is excited to welcome President Joe Biden and other top Democrats to see what the diverse Chicago workforce can deliver.

"So, the lessons that we're learning here is that the neighborhoods that have experienced disinvestment are also the neighborhoods who understand the value and beauty of being tied to the labor movement," Johnson added.

DNC labor — Gov. JB Pritzker, DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, Chicago Federation of Labor President Bob Reiter, and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson appeared at a press conference at McCormick Place on July 25, 2023.

The 2024 Democratic National Convention will be held from August 19-22. Meanwhile, Milwaukee will host the Republican National Convention July 15-18.

"From the airports to the hotels to the convention floor, union workers are going to make the 2024 DNC the best convention in modern history," said Chicago Federation of Labor President Bob Reiter. "Chicago's labor movement comes to every table ready to get a deal done for our members and that's exactly what we did here."