The employees of the Redstone 8 Cinemas in Kimball Junction are now on strike to secure a $15 an hour starting wage.
Redstone 8 Cinemas workers and the theater’s corporate offices were not able to reach an agreement Wednesday morning. The strike began just after noon.
According to theater employee Zinnia Kenny, the theater is open, but staffed by management only. Theater management told KPCW all comments on the matter would be handled through the Metropolitan Theatres corporate office. A representative for the company did not return KPCW’s request for comment.
Kenny said workers did meet over Zoom with corporate staff of Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Theatres on Monday, but the 45-minute meeting was unproductive.
“We made a concise statement about what we wanted, which was a $15 wage for a better theater for Park City, we discussed what we were willing to do to get that -- which was organize and potentially strike -- and we asked them very directly for a response,” she said. “They gave us, after we asked directly for a response, about 45 minutes of hollow platitudes which made no statement one way or another on what we were actually doing or asking them for.”
Redstone employees are currently compensated at a starting salary of $10.50 an hour, with supervisors making $11.75.
Many local businesses have found themselves short-staffed in recent months and are offering starting wages of $15 an hour or higher in order to attract employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kenny told KPCW last week there has been significant employee turnover at the theater this summer due to low pay and more lucrative opportunities elsewhere. She said the raise would help the theater retain employees and solve the training and maintenance issues she said are negatively affecting the theater.
