A message from Projectionists Union Local 160
by John A. Galinac Friday, Mar. 11, 2005 at 3:17 PM
iatse160@usa.com 216-621-7854 2900 Euclid Avenue Cleveland, OH 44115

A reply to Jon Forman's Special Message in his SPROCKETS NEWSLETTER

A message from Projectionists Union Local 160 John A. Galinac Business Agent Thank you for allowing me to respond to the “Special Message” from Jon Forman, President of Cleveland Cinemas. After reading the “Special Message” you might conclude that Mr. Forman states a reasonable and sympathetic position and that it is unfortunate that the Projectionists Union refuses to accept the technological inevitability of being relegated to the fate of the dinosaurs. Nothing could be farther from the truth. This is not about technology; this is about Mr. Forman’s greed and his willingness to sacrifice the Cleveland International Film Festival for his own narrow, selfish interests. I would like to respond to a few of the points in Mr. Forman’s message.

 The largest movie theater in the Greater Cleveland area is staffed 100% by union projectionists. Cinemark Theater in Valley View, with 24 screens, is the largest theater in this area and uses only union projectionists. Mr. Forman’s claim that union projectionists only remain at anachronistic, single screen theaters is simply a lie. Indeed, union projectionists are even employed at some of the theaters on his list of supposedly non-union theaters.

 The Cleveland International Film Festival has been put “at risk” by Jon Forman, not the Projectionists Union. The Film Festival has used only union projectionists for the last 28 years. In fact, last year when the Film Festival was having financial troubles, I personally requested and the Film Festival received a $10,000 grant from Paul Newman so that union projectionists could be used. This year, when the Film Festival applied to Cuyahoga County for a $15,000 grant, it expressly included funding for projectionists. It was Jon Forman who would not allow the Film Festival to continue to employ its own union projectionists and instead is requiring the Film Festival to use Mr. Forman’s non-union employees if the Film Festival wants to use the theaters Mr. Forman controls at Tower City. But for Mr. Forman’s intransigence, the Film Festival would have continued to use union projectionists as it has done for 28 years.

 Mr. Forman complained that the Union’s efforts to discourage patrons from coming to his theaters “may” have had an impact on his business, but he fails to mention the impact on the lives of union projectionists who he has systematically fired from their jobs at every single theater that is part of Mr. Forman’s growing empire. Those dedicated employees and their families have suffered from a loss of wages, health care, and contributions to their pension.

 The average wage of the dedicated union projectionists that used to work for Cleveland Cinemas was $15/hour. The projectionists have been replaced by lower-paid, so-called “managers” and “supervisors”. Although Mr. Forman’s Special Message talked about “upgrading” his operations, Mr. Forman has refused to hire any of his former projectionist employees into these lower-paid, upgraded positions. In fact, the National Labor Relations Board has issued a Complaint against Cleveland Cinema, and will be prosecuting them at a trial scheduled to start in June, over Cleveland Cinema’s refusal to even consider re-hiring union members into these “upgraded” positions.

 Finally, Jon Forman’s disdain for the Union and his own employees was best illustrated after one of his long-term employees died of a heart attack while at work, only hours after complaining to a fellow employee about his working conditions. When the Union tried to discuss health and safety issues with Mr. Forman, he stormed out of the meeting and refused to negotiate. I hope that these comments give you a better idea of what we have been up against. We ask for your support and understanding.

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"Special Message"
by sprockets newsletter Friday, Mar. 11, 2005 at 5:22 PM

Support Projectionists! Boycott Cleveland International Film Festival!

SPECIAL MESSAGE:

Dear Guest of www.clevelandcinemas.com,

Thanks for visiting our web site. We hope that you find the information helpful and that you choose to see a film at one of our theaters. As you may be aware, members of Local 160, the Projectionists Union, have attempted to disrupt the Cleveland International Film Festival and have on occasion, tried to discourage the public from attending movies at our theaters. By their actions, these individuals have placed one of Cleveland’s great cultural institutions - the Film Festival - at risk. Their efforts to discourage patrons from coming to our theaters may have an impact on our business.

The protest has nothing to do with the Cleveland Film Festival or Cleveland Cinemas. Instead, it has to do with changes in the movie theater industry. Many years ago, when most theaters had a single screen, a dedicated projectionist was usually employed, since the method by which films were shown was significantly different than it is today. Showing a film required two projectors, since films were shown using 20-minute reels and someone had to “change-over” or switch between projectors so that as one reel of film was ending, the next reel on the other projector would begin. Also, the light source for each projector was a dangerous carbon arc needing constant adjustment. And film stock was highly flammable, requiring special handling.

Today, technology has made the position of the dedicated projectionist unnecessary, just as it has eliminated the need for elevator operators and typesetters . With the changes that the industry has made, theaters now operate more efficiently, so that a theater manager can operate 20 screens at the push of one button, like they do at Loews’ Theaters at Richmond Mall, Regal Cinemas’ 16 screen theaters in Willoughby and Medina and Magic Johnson’s 12 screen theater in Randall Park Mall. Currently, the only theaters in Greater Cleveland operated exclusively by a dedicated projectionist are those that are part of the Science Center, the Rock Hall and the Cleveland Museum of Art. Virtually all movie theaters in Greater Cleveland and across the United States now operate without dedicated projectionists. You may find the theatre information at the end of this letter to be of interest.

Motion picture theater companies do not employ projectionists, simply because the jobs no longer exist. Managers and supervisors at our theaters are professionals, who operate projection equipment as part of their duties, and receive competitive wages and benefits. The National Labor Relations Board has, on several occasions, confirmed that Cleveland Cinemas bargained in good faith and acted properly as we upgraded our operations to keep pace with others in the industry.

Cleveland Cinemas is committed to its customers and to Cleveland. For 27 years, we have created jobs, restored historic buildings and helped revitalize the neighborhoods where our theaters are located. And we have consistently supported the Cleveland International Film Festival. We hope you will agree that our theaters are part of what makes Cleveland special.

We also hope you will agree that, while there is a time and place for labor and management to debate their issues, that place is not the Cleveland International Film Festival. We appreciate your patronage and we hope that you found this information helpful. If you have any questions or concerns, I can be reached at jrf1@ clevelandcinemas.com.
Sincerely,
Jonathan R. Forman, President

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Union projectionist controversy on WVIZ, Sun., 3/13
by David Friday, Mar. 11, 2005 at 11:04 PM

The Cleveland Film Festival union projectionist battle will be discussed on the "Feagler and Friends" program on WVIZ (Channel 25) this Sunday, March 13, 2005, at 11 a.m.

How has the picket line been going?

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Feature
by article additions Saturday, Mar. 12, 2005 at 1:51 AM
elle@indymedia.org

can be found on the front page of the website in the center column

Cleveland Cinemas CEO Jon Forman is up to no good once again. Union projectionists have been told that their services will not be needed for the 2005 Cleveland International Film Festival, March 10-20, despite having worked the festival since it began 28 years ago. One man's fight against the union is threatening to destroy the integrity of the Cleveland Film Festival, prompting many in Cleveland to say "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!"
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Update 3/11/05: A message from Projectionists Union Local 160

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