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Projectionists Picket Oaks Theater
Pickets will continue at the Oaks from Friday through Sunday until an agreement has been reached with the new owners of the Oaks. Updates will be posted to Indybay, and thanks to the Daily Planet for covering stuff like this in the community.
Picture below taken by upton sinclair on Tuesday 2/22, unfortunately the picket was about the half the size that it usually is.
Picture below taken by upton sinclair on Tuesday 2/22, unfortunately the picket was about the half the size that it usually is.
Projectionists Picket Oaks Theater
By RICHARD BRENNEMAN
The Oaks Theater hadn’t even officially changed hands Thursday when the projectionists’ union announced a labor action at the 1875 Solano Ave. movie house.
Pickets will go up today starting at 2:30 p.m., an hour ahead of the day’s first screening. They will leave after the evening’s last showing begins at 8:30.
At issue is the fate of the theater’s two projectionists, both members of one of the oldest unions in show business, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes (CQ), Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories and Canada (IATSE).
Jason Mottley, business agent for IATSE Local 169, said the Oaks has been a union shop since the theater first opened in 1925.
Longtime operator Allen Michaan has said his Renaissance Rialto is severing its lease because the small, East Bay operation didn’t have the economic clout to win major first-run films.
Metropolitan, based in Los Angeles, is a larger operation with 15 screens across North America and specializes in art films.
Mottley said Metropolitan wants to change to a non-union shop and has said it will dump one of the union projectionists and keep the other for a year while he trains their replacements.
That concession would allow him to work until his scheduled retirement at a 25 percent cut in wages and a 33 percent cut in hours.
Under the current agreement, projectionists are paid $15.49 an hour
“One of the projectionists has been there 26 years and the other’s been there 24 years,” Mottley said.
Metropolitan President David Corwin said his company had been negotiating with the union, and that the call from a Daily Planet reporter was the first he’d heard of the intended job action.
“They had an agreement with the previous operator who had multiple screens in the area,” Corwin said. “None of the other theaters in Berkeley have union employees.”
Not so, said Mottley. The union official pointed to union workers—including projectionists—at all but the UA 7 on Shattuck Avenue.
As for the latter, “that’s because they’re part of Regal, which is the largest operator in the country and doesn’t have any union employees except in Chicago and New York,” he said.
The IATSE local currently has 40 members in Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa and Solano counties, he said
While Corwin declined to comment on the specifics of negotiations, Mottley said the chain originally tried to get both projectionists to abandon the union.
Pickets will return to the Oaks from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday through Monday, he said.
“They’ll remain indefinitely as long as we can get them out there,” Mottley said.
http://berkeleydailyplanet.com/article.cfm?archiveDate=02-18-05&storyID=20763
By RICHARD BRENNEMAN
The Oaks Theater hadn’t even officially changed hands Thursday when the projectionists’ union announced a labor action at the 1875 Solano Ave. movie house.
Pickets will go up today starting at 2:30 p.m., an hour ahead of the day’s first screening. They will leave after the evening’s last showing begins at 8:30.
At issue is the fate of the theater’s two projectionists, both members of one of the oldest unions in show business, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes (CQ), Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories and Canada (IATSE).
Jason Mottley, business agent for IATSE Local 169, said the Oaks has been a union shop since the theater first opened in 1925.
Longtime operator Allen Michaan has said his Renaissance Rialto is severing its lease because the small, East Bay operation didn’t have the economic clout to win major first-run films.
Metropolitan, based in Los Angeles, is a larger operation with 15 screens across North America and specializes in art films.
Mottley said Metropolitan wants to change to a non-union shop and has said it will dump one of the union projectionists and keep the other for a year while he trains their replacements.
That concession would allow him to work until his scheduled retirement at a 25 percent cut in wages and a 33 percent cut in hours.
Under the current agreement, projectionists are paid $15.49 an hour
“One of the projectionists has been there 26 years and the other’s been there 24 years,” Mottley said.
Metropolitan President David Corwin said his company had been negotiating with the union, and that the call from a Daily Planet reporter was the first he’d heard of the intended job action.
“They had an agreement with the previous operator who had multiple screens in the area,” Corwin said. “None of the other theaters in Berkeley have union employees.”
Not so, said Mottley. The union official pointed to union workers—including projectionists—at all but the UA 7 on Shattuck Avenue.
As for the latter, “that’s because they’re part of Regal, which is the largest operator in the country and doesn’t have any union employees except in Chicago and New York,” he said.
The IATSE local currently has 40 members in Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa and Solano counties, he said
While Corwin declined to comment on the specifics of negotiations, Mottley said the chain originally tried to get both projectionists to abandon the union.
Pickets will return to the Oaks from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday through Monday, he said.
“They’ll remain indefinitely as long as we can get them out there,” Mottley said.
http://berkeleydailyplanet.com/article.cfm?archiveDate=02-18-05&storyID=20763
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There is a picket going on at the Oaks Theater in Berkeley at 1875 Solano
Ave. After 80 years of union operators the new owners that took over on
Friday threw out the union. Picketing will be from 12:15pm to 8:45pm Sunday and Monday. Feel free to come by. Picketing will be going on indefinitely.
Give Ocean a call at 415 515 3387 for more details.
Ave. After 80 years of union operators the new owners that took over on
Friday threw out the union. Picketing will be from 12:15pm to 8:45pm Sunday and Monday. Feel free to come by. Picketing will be going on indefinitely.
Give Ocean a call at 415 515 3387 for more details.
i went with my daughter to see Pooh's Heffalump Movie yesterday at the Oaks and encountered the pickets; luckily it was playing elsewhere, because missing the Heffalump make peace with Pooh and his incompetent buddies would have been very sad.
Oaks Theater should be shut down!
Oaks Theater should be shut down!
I went to the picket at the Oaks tonight for about 5 hours and the picket was doing a pretty good job of turning folks away. It was helpful that the projectionists that were fired from the Oaks last week are out there on the line, and that the rest of the union(IATSE)are strongly in support of their 2 cohorts. The union is pretty small though, about 40 folks, and could use help from the community on this picket line.
This round of picketing at the Oaks for IATSE can either become a victory and a warm up for upcoming struggles, or a slippery slope towards a much more difficult future, depending on what the community does.
Solidarity Forever...
This round of picketing at the Oaks for IATSE can either become a victory and a warm up for upcoming struggles, or a slippery slope towards a much more difficult future, depending on what the community does.
Solidarity Forever...
In the spirit of the flying pickets held in support of the locked-out hotel workers in San Francisco late last year, on the evening of Friday, February 25, there will be a community "flying picket" at the Oaks Theater on Solano Avenue in Berkeley.
We will be showing support for the two long-time projectionists who were told that they had to quit the union and take a big wage-cut when Metropolitan Theater Corp. took over Oaks Theater last Friday, February 18th.
A picket was in effect for most of this three-day weekend and will continue throughout the week.
The community flying picket strives to break-down and dissolve the separations between workers in different sectors and industries which keep us weak. The flying picket says to employers everywhere: If you attack one of us, WE will counter-attack!
Stay tuned for exact meeting time (based upon the Friday evening's movie schedule; we intend to meet about 45 minutes before the first evening showing). Bring noise-makers, placards, musical instruments, and prepare to have fun!
Oaks Theater is located on Solano Avenue between The Alameda and Colusa in North Berkeley and is easily accessible by AC Transit from Downtown B-Town (the 43 and the 15).
We will be showing support for the two long-time projectionists who were told that they had to quit the union and take a big wage-cut when Metropolitan Theater Corp. took over Oaks Theater last Friday, February 18th.
A picket was in effect for most of this three-day weekend and will continue throughout the week.
The community flying picket strives to break-down and dissolve the separations between workers in different sectors and industries which keep us weak. The flying picket says to employers everywhere: If you attack one of us, WE will counter-attack!
Stay tuned for exact meeting time (based upon the Friday evening's movie schedule; we intend to meet about 45 minutes before the first evening showing). Bring noise-makers, placards, musical instruments, and prepare to have fun!
Oaks Theater is located on Solano Avenue between The Alameda and Colusa in North Berkeley and is easily accessible by AC Transit from Downtown B-Town (the 43 and the 15).
I spoke with the president of Metropolitan on Tuesday, and we have received another offer, which will be voted on Thursday morning. It is unlikely that it will be accepted, but the Local will have a counter offer, which will be given to Metropolitan Friday morning at 09:30. The picket line was called off until Friday as a good faith gesture, but if negotiations break down, we will be back out on Friday. I will post an update late morning or early afternoon on Friday. Thanks for your support. You can call me at 415 515 3387 for more information or e-mail at voodoo [at] bari.iww.org
North Berkeley Theater Purchase Sparks Protest
Union Employees Contest Wages, Hours, Health Benefits
The purchase of an 80-year-old Berkeley theater by a Los Angeles-based chain left some former employees and their supporters up in arms Friday.
North Berkeley’s Oaks Theater was purchased by Los Angeles-based chain Metropolitan Theaters Corporation two weeks ago, leaving union supporters in protest Friday over the new management’s decision to eliminate union affiliates at the local theater.
More than a dozen Berkeley residents and members of AFL-CIO, a 13-million-member federation of America’s labor unions, protested on behalf of former Oaks Theater employees Richard Graves and Charles Rosenthal.
Graves, 64, had worked at Oaks Theater for 26 years maintaining equipment for film screenings before Metropolitan management took over. He said he was one year away from collecting his retirement pension when he quit because he was unsatisfied with Metropolitan’s proposal to reduce his wages, cut his benefits and require him to train non-union workers.
“I had a job yesterday, and today, I don’t have a job,” Graves said. “I’m very upset. I’ve put lots of effort in maintaining the equipment for the theater.”
Rosenthal, who is the union assistant projectionist and executive board member, said he quit because he was denied training to become a non-union manager at the theater.
The union’s contract with the theater was terminated Friday when Renaissance Rialto, Inc., the theater’s former leaser, vacated the theater, said David Corwin, president of Metropolitan.
In response to the union protest, Corwin said Metropolitan was willing to negotiate with the union, but the union rejected the corporation’s proposal.
Both union affiliates and Corwin said they were unable to agree on wages, working hours and health benefits proposals.
Corwin said the lack of a union at Oaks Theater is an exception for Metropolitan, which has union workers in its theaters in southern California. He said the reason there is no union contract with Oaks employees is because the theater employed only two union members.
Corwin said the protests will not stop the theater from resuming business.
He added that he hopes that the purchase will benefit Oaks by connecting it with national movie industries that are more willing to grant the theater access to more mainstream films.
The theater’s limited access to mainstream films was the main reason it was sold to Metropolitan, said Allen Michaan, owner of Renaissance Rialto.
“We couldn’t get access to movies that would make money,” Michaan said. “The much bigger companies have never given a fair allocation of films. We continued to lose money.”
Corwin said this problem will be alleviated under Metropolitan management.
“Under their previous operator, the theater did not offer a wide variety of films,” Corwin said. “Now there won’t be a limit.”
Contact Tonia Bui at newsdesk [at] dailycal.org.
North Berkeley Theater Purchase Sparks Protest
Union Employees Contest Wages, Hours, Health Benefits
The purchase of an 80-year-old Berkeley theater by a Los Angeles-based chain left some former employees and their supporters up in arms Friday.
North Berkeley’s Oaks Theater was purchased by Los Angeles-based chain Metropolitan Theaters Corporation two weeks ago, leaving union supporters in protest Friday over the new management’s decision to eliminate union affiliates at the local theater.
More than a dozen Berkeley residents and members of AFL-CIO, a 13-million-member federation of America’s labor unions, protested on behalf of former Oaks Theater employees Richard Graves and Charles Rosenthal.
Graves, 64, had worked at Oaks Theater for 26 years maintaining equipment for film screenings before Metropolitan management took over. He said he was one year away from collecting his retirement pension when he quit because he was unsatisfied with Metropolitan’s proposal to reduce his wages, cut his benefits and require him to train non-union workers.
“I had a job yesterday, and today, I don’t have a job,” Graves said. “I’m very upset. I’ve put lots of effort in maintaining the equipment for the theater.”
Rosenthal, who is the union assistant projectionist and executive board member, said he quit because he was denied training to become a non-union manager at the theater.
The union’s contract with the theater was terminated Friday when Renaissance Rialto, Inc., the theater’s former leaser, vacated the theater, said David Corwin, president of Metropolitan.
In response to the union protest, Corwin said Metropolitan was willing to negotiate with the union, but the union rejected the corporation’s proposal.
Both union affiliates and Corwin said they were unable to agree on wages, working hours and health benefits proposals.
Corwin said the lack of a union at Oaks Theater is an exception for Metropolitan, which has union workers in its theaters in southern California. He said the reason there is no union contract with Oaks employees is because the theater employed only two union members.
Corwin said the protests will not stop the theater from resuming business.
He added that he hopes that the purchase will benefit Oaks by connecting it with national movie industries that are more willing to grant the theater access to more mainstream films.
The theater’s limited access to mainstream films was the main reason it was sold to Metropolitan, said Allen Michaan, owner of Renaissance Rialto.
“We couldn’t get access to movies that would make money,” Michaan said. “The much bigger companies have never given a fair allocation of films. We continued to lose money.”
Corwin said this problem will be alleviated under Metropolitan management.
“Under their previous operator, the theater did not offer a wide variety of films,” Corwin said. “Now there won’t be a limit.”
Contact Tonia Bui at newsdesk [at] dailycal.org.
An oral agreement was made today with Metropolitan. A contract should be signed on Monday, and the membership will vote on it on Tuesday. There will be no pickets in the interim. I want to thank everyone for their support. We would never have gotten anything without the leverage of the pickets, which many community members supported. I will update again on Tuesday after the vote or before if anything changes.
Hey Ocean,
How 'bout giving us a heads up about what happened?
How 'bout giving us a heads up about what happened?
Sorry, for lagging on the follow-up. This week has been tough. I also forgot about this site. It is the first time I have ever used it. I had been posting on other sites, but I forgot the follow-up on here.
We got an 11 month contract keeping Richard at the same hours and benefits with $1.19 an hour pay cut. We lost the second part-time operator. They demanded the contract end on Richard's retirement date next January. So, we will probably be out there again next year.
We got an 11 month contract keeping Richard at the same hours and benefits with $1.19 an hour pay cut. We lost the second part-time operator. They demanded the contract end on Richard's retirement date next January. So, we will probably be out there again next year.
Why'd you settle for *that*?
You make it sound like we can unilaterly demand what we want and impose those demands. First, of all negotiations are about compromise. There were at least two parties fighting over zero-sum economics. The company wanted to give us nothing. We wanted the same conditions we had. The settlement was the middle ground we were able to find. Partly, it is about power. Who can force the other party to meet their demands. Partly, it is about economic realities. Both sides of this labor dispute had different sources and amounts of power to leverage in this situation. We had the pickets, community support, and the ability to hurt their bottom line, which is the only term they understand. They had the money to outlast us and the power to close or sell the theater. Actually, there is a lot more I should probably go in to that is not appropriate for public disclosure, but anyone interested in more specifics should feel free to e-mail me at my personal address, call, or write. I must say that I do not appreciate the tone of your comment, but out of respect for the many community members that really came out for us and may be thinking the same thing, hopefully in more understanding terms, I am responding to you. I hope you will be more tactful in your criticisms in the future. I, personally, and many of the union members and community participants spent many sleepless nights and miserable days in the pooring rain to get to the agreement we had. The real issue now is planning for the future. How do we make it better next time? We have to organize within the theater. Anyone interested in being a salt should contact me. Also, anyone who is or knows projectionists or other theater workers should feel free to contact me about organizing in their theaters.
Thanks for your response. I apologize for the tone of my comment. It was an unfiltered response--I certainly don't mean to dis anyone who made a sacrifice picketing.
That said, I'm confused by your post, in particular this part:
<<We had the pickets, community support, and the ability to hurt their bottom line, which is the only term they understand. They had the money to outlast us and the power to close or sell the theater.>>
Certainly you knew at the outset of the struggle--when you decided to launch a picket and boycott--that Metropolitan Corp. has lots of money and would threaten to sell the theater if the they started feeling the pinch (btw, what's so bad about them selling it?). It seems to me obvious that you had two choices before you as a union--to fight or not fight. You chose the former, to your credit, BUT, having decided to fight I don't understand why when the union's side was picking up strength and gaining support that you settled for so little. As you know, last Friday there was a community "flying picket" scheduled that was called off--at your behest--because the union and the bosses came to an "oral agreement" (in other words, a bunch of words from management). At the time I didn't understand why you would take down the picket as "good faith gesture" in lieu of a contractual agreement--I mean, had these scum-bags ever shown the union any "good faith"? I suspected that the bosses were pushing to see how amenable you all were to giving up the fight, and they got the answer they were looking for--quite willing. And the rest is history. Too bad.
Sorry if I sound like an asshole.
That said, I'm confused by your post, in particular this part:
<<We had the pickets, community support, and the ability to hurt their bottom line, which is the only term they understand. They had the money to outlast us and the power to close or sell the theater.>>
Certainly you knew at the outset of the struggle--when you decided to launch a picket and boycott--that Metropolitan Corp. has lots of money and would threaten to sell the theater if the they started feeling the pinch (btw, what's so bad about them selling it?). It seems to me obvious that you had two choices before you as a union--to fight or not fight. You chose the former, to your credit, BUT, having decided to fight I don't understand why when the union's side was picking up strength and gaining support that you settled for so little. As you know, last Friday there was a community "flying picket" scheduled that was called off--at your behest--because the union and the bosses came to an "oral agreement" (in other words, a bunch of words from management). At the time I didn't understand why you would take down the picket as "good faith gesture" in lieu of a contractual agreement--I mean, had these scum-bags ever shown the union any "good faith"? I suspected that the bosses were pushing to see how amenable you all were to giving up the fight, and they got the answer they were looking for--quite willing. And the rest is history. Too bad.
Sorry if I sound like an asshole.
This will be my last post to this site. Anyone that wants further information should contact me directly. I will not be checking this site again.
You asked what would be so bad about a sale. First, it creates a new uncertainty. Will the new owner be better or worse? It was a gamble not worth taking. At least now we know what we are dealing with. If they do decide to sell, then we won't have an agreement during the transaction period, which could be many months. MTC was willing to capitulate on one job, but a second job was a breaking point for them.
I apologize about calling off the flying picket. We already had an oral agreement, which is actually more than just words, before I knew about the flying picket. The reason we had to call the line in good faith was because MTC made us a new offer, which we had to review as a membership. I have to give notice by mailing to the members to set a date for a meeting. MTC or any employer is going to be mad if a picket continues after they make an offer in good faith because of the delay time due to democratic process. We also wanted to save our resources and not burn out the members on the picket line who have full time jobs, families, etc. This was a good time to take a break without looking weak to the employer. If negotiations failed, we could hit the line with renewed vigor after a rest.
Why were we willing to give up so easily, as you put it? First, we were at a point of dimenishing returns. We got them to take a few big steps quickly, but the longer we waited they smaller the movement would have been, and there was the possibility of pushing too far. Finally, I am THE person in our small local that deals with everything, but I get only a nominal salary. I have to work another full time job in order to be able to be the business agent. As business agent I have many other things to do beside this picket. I was negotiating another contract at the time. I am the health and welfare officer, I am the recording and corresponding secretary, etc. These duties don't go away because we have a picket. I had to organize the picket, which includes getting signs made, leaflets made, communicating to the public and to our international, calling members to schedule picket duty, and of course be on the picket line. I got an average of four hours of sleep for about two weeks during this period. Besides breaking down my immune system and having halucinations from sleep deprivation, I was emotionally unable to continue this lifestyle indefinetly. Believe me, the sooner it was over the better. We could have stayed out longer, but we got an agreement, and that was as far as we went this time. We are preparing now for next year's negotiations, which are likely to be even more contincious.
You asked what would be so bad about a sale. First, it creates a new uncertainty. Will the new owner be better or worse? It was a gamble not worth taking. At least now we know what we are dealing with. If they do decide to sell, then we won't have an agreement during the transaction period, which could be many months. MTC was willing to capitulate on one job, but a second job was a breaking point for them.
I apologize about calling off the flying picket. We already had an oral agreement, which is actually more than just words, before I knew about the flying picket. The reason we had to call the line in good faith was because MTC made us a new offer, which we had to review as a membership. I have to give notice by mailing to the members to set a date for a meeting. MTC or any employer is going to be mad if a picket continues after they make an offer in good faith because of the delay time due to democratic process. We also wanted to save our resources and not burn out the members on the picket line who have full time jobs, families, etc. This was a good time to take a break without looking weak to the employer. If negotiations failed, we could hit the line with renewed vigor after a rest.
Why were we willing to give up so easily, as you put it? First, we were at a point of dimenishing returns. We got them to take a few big steps quickly, but the longer we waited they smaller the movement would have been, and there was the possibility of pushing too far. Finally, I am THE person in our small local that deals with everything, but I get only a nominal salary. I have to work another full time job in order to be able to be the business agent. As business agent I have many other things to do beside this picket. I was negotiating another contract at the time. I am the health and welfare officer, I am the recording and corresponding secretary, etc. These duties don't go away because we have a picket. I had to organize the picket, which includes getting signs made, leaflets made, communicating to the public and to our international, calling members to schedule picket duty, and of course be on the picket line. I got an average of four hours of sleep for about two weeks during this period. Besides breaking down my immune system and having halucinations from sleep deprivation, I was emotionally unable to continue this lifestyle indefinetly. Believe me, the sooner it was over the better. We could have stayed out longer, but we got an agreement, and that was as far as we went this time. We are preparing now for next year's negotiations, which are likely to be even more contincious.
>You asked what would be so bad about a sale. First, it creates a >new uncertainty. Will the new owner be better or worse? It was a >gamble not worth taking.
are we supposed to throw the dice and pray for a nice boss?
fuck no!!!
all of them are the enemy. forcing them to sell is a sign of working class strength, not weakness.
maybe dealing with a *business agent* is dealing with a class enemy too. you certainly sound like it.
are we supposed to throw the dice and pray for a nice boss?
fuck no!!!
all of them are the enemy. forcing them to sell is a sign of working class strength, not weakness.
maybe dealing with a *business agent* is dealing with a class enemy too. you certainly sound like it.
I had the honor to be a part of the Projectionists Union local 169 in the mid to late 1970's, just as the multiplex theatres were coming into being. It was then, and seemingly remains to be today that the Owners greed overcomes their good business sense. The professional projectionists are well trained, dedicated and committed to giving the paying customers their moneys worth. The Owners should welcome this committment to quality, not view it as a threat to their operations. I urge the local to stand firm, and trust that the movie going public will support their just efforts to preserve their livlihoods.
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