posted 06-20-2004 02:36 AM                       

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I see a lot of young people in these forums, and you had better all get politically active and be voting next year. If Bush is re-elected, and if the Rich Republicans capture more than 60 seats in the Senate, plus controlling the House, we are going to see an escalating disaster which will make today's events seem like a church picnic. On the national, Congressional level, the Republicans represent the upper strata of the richest 1% and THAT IS ALL.

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posted 06-23-2004 07:22 PM                       

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Thomas Mulready, proprietor of CoolCleveland.com, likes to tout his website as the place for all that's "edgy, innovative and eye-opening in Cleveland." But this description apparently doesn't include giant rats.

At a Cool Cleveland bash on Coventry last Thursday, wannabe hipsters flocked to the neighborhood anchored by the venerable Cedar Lee Theater, which shows movies with no explosions or car chases, which means they're art.

But there are problems afoot at the Cedar Lee. Owner Jon Forman fired all his union employees in April. He claimed he no longer had any employees, since everyone who works for him is now officially a "manager." The punk selling you popcorn? He's a "concessions manager." The pimply kid taking tickets? That's the "floor manager."

Forman's company, Cleveland Cinemas, also manages the theaters at Tower City and Shaker Square, as well as Chagrin Cinemas, where all the unionized projectionists were fired, too. The move allowed Forman to cut wages from $15 an hour to between $7 and $10, says John Galinac, business agent for Local 160.

The union has filed two complaints with the National Labor Relations Board, and the case looks pretty open-and-shut. "You cannot fire people for being in a union," says Patricia Gilbert, spokeswoman for the board.

But as the cases languish in the federal bureaucracy, the union decided to run a little street protest. So they broke out the giant inflatable rat, a key accessory to any stylish labor action.

Alas, it seems that Cool Clevelanders aren't big on livable wages -- at least for anybody but themselves. They told Galinac they were offended by the presence of a 12-foot rodent parked in the middle of their party, which was soooo inappropriate.

"Some people thought it was over the top," Galinac says. "It looked like Godzilla. It was taller than the marquee."

Even business owners on the block thought the Cool Clevelanders were getting upset over nothing. "It didn't bother me," says Kevin Needham, owner of the Pub on Lee.

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posted 06-23-2004 11:45 PM                       

quote: Jeffry L. Johnson

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The union has filed two complaints with the National Labor Relations Board, and the case looks pretty open-and-shut.

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