Union Members Rally Outside Tinseltown

About 50 members of the union that represents employees at some of Anaheim’s major entertainment venues held a boisterous protest in front of the new Tinseltown Studios on Monday, alleging that employees there are being mistreated because they don’t have a union contract.

The rally took place as nearly 800 people streamed through the front doors of the dinner theater Monday morning for the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce’s annual luncheon for the Anaheim Angels.

“This is just the beginning of a public battle,” said Steven Dornbusch, assistant to the president of Hotel and Restaurant Employees Local 681 in Anaheim and Long Beach. “We have over 80% of the [Tinseltown] employees who have signed up on unionization cards.”

None of Tinseltown’s 200 employees, however, were marching in the picket line. Organizers said most were working the luncheon and others were afraid of retaliation if they showed up. Chanting protesters held up signs that read “We want job security” and “Where are our tips?” as they marched in a large circle.

Tinseltown General Manager Ron Drake calmly watched the demonstration and said later that the protesters “don’t represent our employees. We feel very strongly that we offer better than the union contract wage and that we offer better benefits.”

Drake said Tinseltown employees typically receive an average of $1 more per hour than comparable categories of employees who are working under union contracts. He said that Tinseltown has asked the union to seek a secret-ballot election through the National Labor Relations Board, but that the union’s refusal “underscores a lack of interest” by Tinseltown employees in joining a union.

To qualify for an NLRB election, 30% of a business’ employees must sign a document saying they want to be represented by a union. To win representation, more than 50% must vote in favor of a union.

Maryanne Mahoney, president of Local 681, said the NLRB election is “a long, drawn-out process” that enables employers to intimidate employees during the election.

“We’re asking that the company recognize they want a union and sit down and negotiate,” Mahoney said.

One major source of contention is that Tinseltown servers do not receive any of the 18% service charge from large groups that rent out the facility for special events and request bar service. Drake said servers instead opted for a higher wage of $10 per hour. He said servers retain tips during regular nights, as do bartenders and bus persons.

Tinseltown, which opened in November, treats guests as though they are movie stars attending a Hollywood awards show, which includes dinner. The experience includes being swarmed by “fans” and picture-snapping paparazzi as patrons enter the theater. Some guests are then chosen to perform in computer-altered movie clips alongside real actors as part of an awards show that takes place during dinner.

The dinner theater initially was open six days a week, but slumping ticket sales on some nights forced the venue to reduce its regular schedule to four days a week--Thursday through Sunday. Tinseltown is open other days when large conventions are in town.

Tinseltown is owned and operated by New York-based Ogden Entertainment Enterprises. In Anaheim, Ogden also operates the city-owned Arrowhead Pond and holds the food and beverage contract at city-owned Edison International Field, home of the Anaheim Angels. Some of the employees at those venues, as well as Disneyland and Disney Pacific hotels, are members of Local 681.