:: rawblogXport ::

:: Monday, June 28, 2004 ::

Rat Bastards Cleveland Scene Weekly, OH
But there are problems afoot at the Cedar Lee. Owner Jon Forman fired all his union employees in April. He claimed he no longer had any employees, since everyone who works for him is now officially a "manager." The punk selling you popcorn? He's a "concessions manager." The pimply kid taking tickets? That's the "floor manager."

Forman's company, Cleveland Cinemas, also manages the theaters at Tower City and Shaker Square, as well as Chagrin Cinemas, where all the unionized projectionists were fired, too. The move allowed Forman to cut wages from $15 an hour to between $7 and $10, says John Galinac, business agent for Local 160.

The union has filed two complaints with the National Labor Relations Board, and the case looks pretty open-and-shut. "You cannot fire people for being in a union," says Patricia Gilbert, spokeswoman for the board.

But as the cases languish in the federal bureaucracy, the union decided to run a little street protest. So they broke out the giant inflatable rat, a key accessory to any stylish labor action.

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