Recreational Workers Industrial Union 630

All workers in playgrounds and places of amusement and recreation. All professional entertainers.

Shattuck Cinema Workers, Management Discuss Grievances

Posted Sun, 08/13/2006 - 10:54am by x344543
By Riya Bhattacharjee - Berkeley Daily Planet, August 11, 2006

Shattuck Cinema workers and union representatives met with management on Wednesday to negotiate pay raises, and other basic demands including uniforms and grievance procedures.

Landmark Cinemas, the parent company of Shattuck Cinemas, and the owner of 58 other theaters all over the United States, had frozen pay increases for workers for over a year, citing problems with funds.

In an e-mail to union representatives on Aug. 4, Landmark announced that the pay increase freeze was being removed and that they were readjusting wages to be competitive in the market. Harjit Gill of Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), the union for Shattuck Cinema workers, said that this was an effort to keep the workers from unionizing.

Victory! - IWW Helps Landmark Cinemas Corporation Discover Cash

Posted Sat, 08/05/2006 - 1:16pm by x345292

Workers at Shattuck Cinemas in Berkeley and all Landmark Cinema employees nation wide are about to receive a pay increse. At Shattuck Cinemas in Berkeley the starting wage goes up to $8 per hour from $7.25.  That's if the workers choose to accept it. Landmark attorney Tom Pavone sent a letter announcing the pay raises to the IWW along with spread sheet data showing the increase for each worker.

The IWW-Shattuckunion considers this to be a clear demonstration of union power and will continue to press the company for gains in benefits and improvments in working conditions.  The IWW in the Bay Area along with union workers at Kendall Square cinema in Cambridge Mass., are the first two Landmark Cinemas to go union.  There are approximately 60 Landmark theaters in total. 

Demand that Landmark Cinema Respect the IWW's Demands!

Posted Mon, 07/24/2006 - 12:26am by x344543

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!

IWW Shattuck Cinema theater workers initiate contract struggle against management - bargaining challenges ahead

Posted Fri, 07/21/2006 - 3:24am by x344543

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. 

Shattuck Cinema Workers Rally on Saturday July 22

Posted Tue, 07/18/2006 - 3:32am by x344543

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.