All workers in playgrounds and places of amusement and recreation. All professional entertainers.
Submitted on Mon, 07/24/2006 - 1:26am
We deserve it! Why? It's a sector of industry often overlooked as insignificant, but millions of people work hard within it. As more and more people are forced to work in service jobs the working poor are becoming increasingly poorer. It is time to come together and take what we deserve.
- The Landmark Cinema workers with lWW are attempting to negotiate a contract with Landmark to gain reasonable and appropriate working conditions.
- lWW will provide the most efficient structure for carrying on our daily struggle for better conditions and better pay.
- The working class deserves fair treatment including access to medical/vision/dental healthcare and reasonable compensation, you know, a living wage. No long term employee should be denied raises after years of service.
- No employee working on Christmas day should be paid less than time and a half.
- No job should be considered too trivial for a full time employee to have access to healthcare.
Our sister theater, The Kendell in Boston, has been negotiating for nine months and has made limited progress towards a fair contract. The Landmark Shattuck Cinema workers voted overwhelmingly for the Union on June 16th 2006. We demand a fair contract now!
Submitted on Fri, 07/21/2006 - 4:24am
By IWW Members Joe and Wes.
Oakland - IWW memebers including Sharon, Jason and Bryan from Shattuck Cinemas and Bay Area IWW members Harjit and Leo met for four hours on Thursday to present contract proposals to Landmark corporate hired gun attorney Tom Pavone.
Landmark intends to fight the union every inch of the way, so it is not surprising that they agreed to nothing the union proposed on Thursday. however, pavone wants to make some money.
Dragging things out is his way of doing that. We, the workers intend to reply by holding fast to our demands and demanding that they be met now. Why should they listen to us?
Answer, because the workers are solid and have asked for and received community support from all over the San Francisco Bay Area. we need to build on the support we have and increase it everyday.
Submitted on Tue, 07/18/2006 - 4:32am
Shattuck Workers Rally on Saturday July 22 at 2pm at Shattuck Cinemas, 2230 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley.
Shattuck Cinema workers voted 22-2 to authorize union representation on June 16. Contract talks are set to begin Thursday, July 20th. Over the course of the union campaign Shattuck Cinema workers have received support from the local community which they know is essential to pressure Landmark Cinemas, which owns the the Shattuck, toward open and honest negotiations.
Amongst the workers demands are: paid sick days, health benefits, a chair for the ticket takers, and a living wage. Currently, the starting wage at the Shattuck is a mere $7.25 and hour, while the City of Berkeley's official living wage is $11.04 an hour. Most employees do not earn more than $8.00 an hour regardless of years of service or job performance. The company prefers what they call "Merit Raises". Annual Raises amounted from a $.03 to $.06 an hour increase for most employees last year.
Submitted on Fri, 07/14/2006 - 11:58pm
By Mary Loritz - July 14, 2006
Workers from Shattuck Cinemas emerged victorious in their fight for a union after voting 22-2 in favor of unionizing with the Industrial Workers of the World. Their union drive became public on May 8th, and a little over a month later, on June 16th, they had a union.
Congratulations! It was a fast process that wouldn't have been possible without community support. The Shattuckunion is an inspiration for cinema workers everywhere who are receiving poor pay with little or no benefits. However, many of the workers' biggest concern was never whether they would gain recognition as a union, but how the company would respond during contract negotiations. Landmark Theatres has been generally unresponsive to the campaign -- they've been unavailable for comment whenever questioned. Their attorney recently responded to the union's demand to bargain letters, and both sides are now preparing for contract negotiations. The union's main objective right now is to get a fair contract - and in a reasonable amount of time.
Submitted on Thu, 06/22/2006 - 2:35pm
While doing a little muckraking into Mark Cuban's entertainment empire not long ago, I stumbled upon the efforts of a group of Landmark Theatre employees at Boston's Kendell Square Cinema who – much to the vigorous union-busting activities of Cuban and co. -- had successfully formed a union. Last Friday, Landmark's Shattuck Cinemas in Berkeley became the second Landmark Theatre to unionize despite "an attempt by CEO Bill Banowsky to thwart the union attempt," according to a press release. . .
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