Wedgewood labor comments causing a bit of a stir

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I noted yesterday that some labor unions in Denver are concerned about Denver's bid for the 2008 Democratic National Convention since none of the hotels in Denver are unionized. But a labor leader seemed to present a moderate approach:

"This is not, 'Don't even bother, throw Denver out the window,"' said Leslie Moody, president of the Denver Area Labor Federation. "We want to see this convention encourage the city to take the wages and benefits of our lowest-paid workers more seriously."

Denver City Councilwoman Elbra Wedgeworth, who is a co-chairwoman of the Denver host committee, responded by saying she didn't want efforts to unionize at the new Hyatt Regency Denver at the Colorado Convention Center to affect the bid for the convention:

"In terms of them using this as a vehicle to unionize the Hyatt, we don't feel that's appropriate," said Denver City Councilwoman Elbra Wedgeworth, who is also a co-chairwoman of the host committee. "They need to do that on their own."

And then in today's Rocky Mountain News:

One Denver city councilwoman believes the unions have a point, but not one that should hinder the city's efforts at landing the convention.

"We're not going to be able to turn Denver into a union town overnight," Councilwoman Elbra Wedgeworth said.

In an earlier version of the article, no longer linkable, she is also quoted as saying:

Do they have a point? Of course," Wedgeworth added. "But should we be the leverage for them to make that point? I don't think so."

One Denver progressive is not happy with Wedgeworth's responses, and has written her a letter, which includes:

I’m not saying it’s an easy situation with the hotels and all, but don’t you think you could have a least pretended to support the union campaign? Couldn’t you have at least given out some kind words of support, rather than “they need to do that on their own”?

Colorado Democratic Party Vice-Chair Dan Slater responded:

To set the record straight, the Denver 2008 Host Committee has been very inclusive of Labor from its inception. The head of the Colorado AFL/CIO, Steve Adams, is a Member of the Host Committee, and we've had ongoing discussions with the State AFL-CIO regarding our bid. (Note that the resolution was not passed by the State organization; it was passed by DALF.)

There are things we can control, and things we cannot control in our bid. I can assure you that our bid will be as labor-friendly as any in the nation. Where we will be hiring laborers, we will work to ensure hiring union laborers. A Denver Convention will mean an awful lot of jobs for Denver, and we are working to ensure that as many of those jobs are union jobs as possible.

For those who want to be dismissive of Councilwoman Wedgworth due to her comments, I want to say that I've worked closely with Elbra over the past few months on this bid, and I can assure you that she is no "DINO". Elbra is committed to this Party and our values. She's worked tirelessly to help bring the Democratic Party to Denver in 2008.

Sounds like the Denver unions and the Denver Host Committee should spend a little more time talking to each other and a little less time talking to the press.