Teamsters took their months-long contract dispute public on Labor Day, staging a demonstration outside the Seattle Convention Center as thousands of PAX West attendees streamed through the doors.

Members of the group of 88 security officers, admission attendants, and parking attendants joined workers from other unions to distribute leaflets calling on their employer to provide living wages and stop increasing healthcare costs.

Union members chanted and drummed outside the venue's main entrance on Pike street, drawing the attention of Human Resources Director Melina Bermudez and Chief Operations Officer Jon Houg, who emerged from the building to observe the demonstration.

The protest comes after five months of frustrating negotiations as a coalition of unions - Teamsters 117, SEIU Local 6, and UniteHere Local 8 - seeks to achieve a fair successor labor agreement on behalf of its members. So far, the Convention Center won't agree to wages that keep pace with inflation, and they won't pull back proposals to increase workers' out-of-pocket medical costs. 

Employees at the Seattle Convention Center already earn less than workers at comparable event venues in the area. The wage gap has created staffing difficulties as workers increasingly choose shifts at higher-paying locations, forcing the convention center to struggle with coverage.

"Teamsters and other workers at the Seattle Convention Center welcome, orient, protect, and provide essential services to over 300,000 visitors annually," said Paul Dascher, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 117. "Convention Center management needs to stop taking these workers for granted, stop increasing their medical expenses, and pay them wages that are at the very least in line with industry standards."

The timing of Monday's demonstration coincided with PAX West, one of the largest gaming conventions in North America, which brings tens of thousands of visitors to Seattle annually. The Union is planning on escalating its pressure on the Convention Center if the employer continues to reject its demands.