Local news
The vote does not mean that workers will strike immediately; “We want our voice to be heard a little more first,” said spokeswoman Jenny Hamlin.
Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline, Massachusetts. Washington Post photo by Adam Glanzman
As workers at the Coolidge Corner Theater negotiated their first-ever union contract since joining the union, the union voted overwhelmingly last week to allow a strike.After weeks of stagnation“, he announced on social media.
The vote does not mean a union voluntarily recognized by the administration June 2024Jenny Hamlin, a union spokeswoman and supervisor of the historic Brooklyn nonprofit movie theater, said workers will strike soon.
Hamlin said Coolidge’s voluntary recognition of the union was an “exciting” show of good faith, but negotiations since then have been slow.
“It’s been a very long negotiation, and certainly I think we haven’t really gotten to a point in our contract that we’re happy with,” Hamlin told Boston.com on Thursday. “Both sides seem to be wary of reaching an agreement, and it has not reached that point for us.”
The vote does not mean that workers will strike immediately; “We want our voice to be heard a little more first,” Hamlin said.
The union’s main concerns about the contract mostly cover job protections, including protections for part-time or seasonal workers and about implementing self-service kiosks, which the union wants to “meet in the middle,” Hamlin said.
“We made a lot of concessions throughout the process, so we feel the contract should be reached soon,” Hamlin said. “What directly prompted us to declare a strike was to protect our jobs at the theater.”
In June of 2024, the Coolidge Corner Theater voluntarily agreed to union recognition after workers filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board, allowing 40 employees of the theater to join United Autoworkers Local 1596, Boston Globe I mentioned. Six months ago, negotiations took place Stopped.
Hamlin said more than 80 percent of the union voted to authorize the strike, the first step in a process with the UAW to reach… Strike fund.
In a statement, Coolidge CEO and CEO Beth Gilligan reiterated the union’s message that although a vote has taken place, there is currently no strike imminent.
Gilligan added that the cinema had “presented a comprehensive proposal” and hoped that the unions would give “employees the opportunity to vote on it”.
“The Coolidge Corner Theater greatly values its employees and the vital role they play in the organization’s mission and community impact. “We remain in active good faith negotiations with the union and are committed to reaching a fair and sustainable agreement,” Gilligan said. “In the meantime, the theater continues its normal operations and remains focused on serving its audiences and community.”
If the union chooses to strike, it will be announced to the public, but for now, “we want people to enjoy going out there and visiting,” Hamlin said.
Hamlin said the union has no time frame to get a contract approved before opting to strike.
“We hope that the next few negotiating sessions will be really productive,” Hamlin said. “We’re just feeling hopeful about the near future, so hopefully we won’t have to go on strike at all.”
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