Letters: Workers make Philly a standout DNC host

ISSUE | HOST CITY

Top-notch police work

A tip of the hat to the Philadelphia Police Department ("Police kept the peace," Saturday). As a former assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, I have participated in the planning of dozens of large-scale international events. In this post-9/11 era, with the threat of terrorism looming over our shoulders, Philadelphia police balanced huge security issues with the freedoms protected in this great nation. The police deserve a huge "Thank you." and the city should be proud of their performance.

|Douglas A. Smith, Washington

As a volunteer at the Wells Fargo Center, I watched the police help convention attendees, always being polite and courteous, and I heard many visitors remark on how helpful the police were to them during their visit to Philadelphia.

|Gerard Iannelli, Haddon Heights

As a resident of one of neighborhoods close to the Wells Fargo Center, I offer kudos to the police officers who directed traffic, as I was able to venture in and out of my neighborhood easily and quickly at any time of the day or evening.

|M. Tenuto, Philadelphia, mbtenuto@gmail.com

SEPTA's secret agent

Kudos to SEPTA general manager Jeff Knueppel, who was riding the subway Thursday night as thousands of Democratic National Convention goers headed back to Center City after Hillary Clinton's acceptance speech.

Knueppel was working discreetly as a SEPTA ambassador. He helped a disabled delegate get to a spot where a kneeling bus would take her to her final destination. He followed up by calling staff to make sure the bus picked her up.

Thanks to all the SEPTA workers who helped keep the DNC riders moving. Many attendees said that the public transportation was quicker and more convenient than shuttle buses and other alternatives.

|Philip Lutz, Philadelphia, pmlutz@gmail.com

Thanks to workers, it was quite a show

The Democratic National Convention was a workers' convention, both in the platform we adopted and in the way regular people were celebrated for the work we do ("What goes up . . . ," Saturday).

The whole place looked great. The people who made the convention possible - from construction workers and bus drivers to stagehands, hotel employees, and custodians - did a fantastic job.

Police officers kept things orderly and smooth, often with a smile and a kind word. That kind of grace and decency isn't easy when you're wearing a bulletproof vest and a uniform and standing in the sun on a hot, humid day.

On the street, I saw crews cleaning up, hour after hour. After the TV cameras turned off, workers of all kinds descended on the Wells Fargo Center to get ready for whatever comes next.

By action, not words, Philadelphia's working people showed the world the enduring virtues of work in the service of democracy.

|Richard Trumka, president, AFL-CIO, Washington

Carpenters' place is in Convention Center

As a loyal union carpenter who worked at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, I never crossed a picket line and was disappointed when members of the stagehands, electrical, and laborers' unions crossed the carpenters' picket line in 2014 ("Labor peace at the convention," Friday). Those workers who crossed the picket line stole the carpenters' work and sowed the seeds of discord.

For decades, Ed Coryell guided members of the carpenters' union to unprecedented wages and health-care and retirement benefits. Many building projects in the Philadelphia area, including the Convention Center, would not have gotten off the ground without him.

I am happy that the Democratic National Convention came off so well and that my union brothers and sisters worked together, somewhat in harmony and accord. Now, give back the carpenters' work at the Convention Center.

As for the Judases within and outside the carpenters' union, may they choke on their 30 pieces of silver.

|Michael J. Schirra, Jim Thorpe, Pa.