The AFL-CIO Union Label and Service Trades Department has announced that North America’s only all-union product and skills exposition—the AFL-CIO Union Industries Show—will be conducted April 29-May 2 at Portland’s Oregon Convention Center.For four days, virtually everything union men and women make or do will be on display for the public to touch, see and sample. Admission to the outing will be free.
“The AFL-CIO Union Industries Show has everything from union-trained seeing eye dogs to union-made wedding cakes, motorcycles and blue jeans, all under one roof,” said Charles Mercer, president of the Union Label and Service Trades Department, which produces and manages the event.
More than 300 exhibits covering an area equal to four football fields will bring to life the show’s theme, “Good Jobs Build Strong Communities,” Mercer said. The event will feature live skills demonstrations, such as “high iron” construction work, silk-screening, haircutting and other crafts and trades. Free prizes, including new cars, a Harley Davidson motorcycle, ranges and refrigerators will be raffled to the public. Students and job seekers can meet training and apprenticeship coordinators and representatives from dozens of different industries.
Except for a few years during World War II, the AFL-CIO Union Industries Show has visited one U.S. city each year since 1938. Portland last hosted the show in 1992.
“Local and national unions and employers work together at the show to demonstrate the importance of good jobs to the economic and social life of the community,” Mercer explained, adding “This is a highly entertaining, as well as an educational experience, for the entire family—and it’s free admission!”
Show hours will be 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. April 29 through Monday, May 2.
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