In the past 2 years, they have fired one of the best projectionists... we'll call him "Jim", because he complained about being taken advantage of... You see, they pay a projectionist. to come in on Thursday nights to put movies together, and one of the managers told "Jim" put movies together if they were delivered early on Thursday matinee so that she could watch it that day... Well, "Jim" argued that they pay someone to do that on Thursday nights and wanted to know why he wasn't getting paid the same amount on top of all of his other jobs... So, he refused to put the movie together (and later retracted and did it anyway), but was subsequently fired.

This set off a string of events where the management proceeded to berate us with notes telling us what we could and could not do... They never once told us to our faces or called an employee meeting... just left impersonal, frank, and downright rude "notes." And when a meeting was finally called, those who called it never showed up. We ended up meeting with the head technician and voiced our complaints and concerns.

All went unanswered. So, we are fed up and we started to voice our opinion. We believe that we are under appreciated and definitely underpaid. To be at the ceiling and making $7/hr to run 12 machines is ludicrous!

Then just last week, a projectionist and I asked for lunch and the manager said that we're not supposed to ask to leave the building if we don't work so many hours... The said shift is 6.75 hours and we were told that we could not grab lunch just 2 blocks away!

So, the projectionist ends up quitting and says that "if he were given the amount of respect that he as an employee of 6 years deserved, he would've given her the respect of getting a 2 week notice."

So, he just walked out and we are left with another ugly and impersonal, 2 page note from the management which in a nutshell says, "you all have forgotten that you work for us, not the other way around. You complain about the pay rate... well, you are paid the going rate for projectionists. You complain about not being appreciated... well, you are appreciated in that we let you keep your job. And you think that by walking out, you hurt us, but you don't... all you do is hurt yourself by losing a reference when looking for another job.

Now, I am most definitely fed up. I truly do enjoy what I am doing and I don't really want another job, but this is just downright sickening. If the management truly appreciated us, then they would come to us and try to solve the problem, rather than hiding behind another note. I am terribly upset at this and I ask for any feedback...

By the way, if I do in fact write a rebuttal to their note, what is the "going rate" for a non-unionized projectionist...? Our job description is threading and running machines, cleaning, oiling, and basic upkeep as well as daily jobs (i.e. cleaning porthole glass, taking out trash, sweeping, mopping, etc.)... I among other projectionists with some tenure also fix other problems that the technician can't get to, such as readjusting brains, and payout, and other things that go wrong with the projectors... and believe me, there are many things that we do that we don't get credit for.

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Steve

Yes, you do work for them, but there is something to be said for being treated with a little respect. Evansville seems like a big enough town to have more than one theatre.... surely some other theatre would appreciate your talents.

Seems to me that the owners and management have a very big lack of "people skills". If they cannot personaly talk with you but merely communicate with hand written notes, it sounds like they have no back bone.

It's sad to say, but sometimes the best way to get a raise to a level you deserve is to move on to another location. In my job here at the engineering firm, I started out at $8.00 an hour as a CADD Operator. As the years progressed, I was handed more responsibilities such as network administrator, CADD department manager, computer and software purchasing, and technical trouble shooting for the entire company.
Seeing classified ads in the newspaper from other firms for the same position I held - and the starting rate of pay was $14.00 an hour, I knew something had to be done. I interviewed with the other firm, and was called back twice to meet with several department heads, and was offered the job. Once I put my two weeks notice in here, I was called into a "closed door meeting" with the owner of the company and was presented with a counter-offer matching the other firms rate of pay - just to stay. The owner of our firm told me in that meeting that "this will only happen once, next time your on your own". I ended up getting the money I wanted, but it always ticked me off that it took me threatening to leave to get it.

If your truly appreciated for what you do, your worth a rate of pay comparable to the industry standard.... if they don't appreciate your worth, find someone who does.

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Barry Floyd
Floyd Entertainment Group
Lebanon, Tennessee

Stardust Drive-In Theatre
Watertown, Tennessee

thanks again to those who are giving me feedback. i know the other guys at the building will appreciate reading this.

Option #2...It may be better to just leave in search of greener pastures.

If you decide you are going to leave, do so on a weekend such as a Saturday evening. Thread all the machines, but leave one thing out. Nothing that would damage a print or any machines, mind you. Just leave the failsafes down on one machine, turn off the exciter lamp on another, thread with the soundtrack reversed, etc. Then walk out. To show you are not being overly-vengeful, leave them a nice note like they left you explaining to them that they no longer have someone "working for them" and they had better "feel appreciated" that you threaded the night's shows for them before you left.

Sure, it may be juvinile and unprofessional, but not as juvinile as simply letting 100 crickets loose in each auditorium.

My friend walked out of the booth when his GM wouldn't let him take an early lunch when he heard that his dog just died. So he left via the side exit without threading anything and went home. They didn't notice until 15 minutes into the first show that nothing for the set was threaded and that he was gone. The next day, the GM called him, took him out to lunch, apologized, and asked for him to come back.

It's hard to love your job when you have to deal with people that are mean to you.

Our non-union projectionist gets paid over $8.00, I'm pretty sure its $8.50 and I think he's been there for about 2 years...I'm not sure on the exact amount.

Oh, for a side note. Minimum wage here is $6.75, starting wage at my theatre is $7.25, that is for all staff except management.

Rachel is right about the minimum wage up here, don't know about Indiana. However I BELIEVE it's federal law that you be allowed 30 minutes off the clock (to go where-ever you want since you are not being paid) for every 6 hours worked. The break issue would probably be an issue for the Attorney General in Indiana. Going payrate at my theater was $9-13/hour (dependent on experience) and the union theaters in the area were making between $15-18.50/hour with medical, pension, and vacation among other things.

If you do intend on staying there and decide the union is the only way to get some respect out of the owners, just be prepared for the length of time it may take. We organized in December of 2000 and we still have not hammered a contract out and have been locked out since June 11th. However, a smaller family-based company would probably not want to spend all the money on negotiations and such that my company did and cave a little easier. Also, the owners may throw ridiculous threats at you like they "don't have to negotiate" (which they do, by law) that the union will "take your job away from you to give to other members with more seniority" (also not true as there are members from my local which have 20 years or more of seniority and I am still at my job, nobody can take it until I give it up) and that sort of thing.

If you do leave, just keep in mind you're letting them win and they will probably treat the next guy as bad or worse. Obviously I am a fan for fighting, but I'm not in your situation. Make the best EDUCATED decision you can and always choose happiness. That long enough for you?

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"The greatest thing you will ever learn, is just love and be loved in return."

Ahem...since when is THAT the golden rule?

I truly hope your post was out of jest. I can not imagine someone who would do something like that. Then again, I consider myself to be a more forgiving/understanding person to work with than many employers out in todays work force and I dont' think anyone who worked for me would stoop so low. If they did, it's not like I, or one of my asst. mgrs couldn't proceed with the show anyway.

Aaron, It does seem like maybe you're getting the short end of the stick as far as working for someone with inter-personal skills, but as for they going rate, you knew what the position paid when you took the job. Getting a raise is nice, expecting one, OTOH, is another story. The two dont' always coincide with one another. Yes, in many states/locales, minimum wage has been raised from the federal standard of $5.15/hour, which, in turn, often "requires" employers to pay more for positions that don't necessarily require a higher level of pay. Sadly, beucase the local burger joint pays a little more and *said theatre* can't keep decent employees (on pay scales alone)they have to pay more. This most often means fewer new positions will be filled/created and the workload will be distributed even more amongst the workforce already in place. More work, same money. The end result is still the same. BTW, my booth guys make considerably less than the numbers quoted here and they all seem somewhat satisfied.

The problem I see (from your post) is that your owner/operator/management lack the skills needed to effeciently run a decent operation. Leaving notes behind is not the way to get a point across. Face to face meetings are. Give and take. Offer the same level of respect you demand of your staff and you will be better off in the long run. I'd try and have a heart to heart with the present management at a time best suited to your schedule and theirs. Bring to the table the very same things you have brought forth here. Make a page of notes of things that you'd like to say and say them in a polite manner. They do have a point, you do work for them, but it should be a mutually beneficial pairing. Who wants to go to work everyday just to get a check? You want to go to work because you enjoy what you do, otherwise you'd be doing something else, right? Point that out. Let them know that you, as an employee, care about your job and that you attempt to do your best at all times, regardless of the situation at hand. If they see that you're serious, and you genuinely are, maybe they will be willing to *hear* what you're saying and work with you (and the rest fo the staff perhaps) on making changes.

As someone else, says, don't simply throw back demands at them. If you can't reach a mutual resolve after talking with them, put in your notice and look for rewards elsewhere. But as someone once told me long ago, "Never burn your bridges - you don't know when you'll have to cross them again". And yes, it IS true.