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.
Thanks for any advice
Steve
------------------
"Old projectionists never die, they just changeover!"
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.
------------------
Barry Floyd
Floyd Entertainment Group
Lebanon, Tennessee
Stardust Drive-In Theatre
Watertown, Tennessee
Are they denying you your required break periods during your shift? If so, turn 'em in to the appropriate agency! Maybe you should also consider joining the projectionists union. Maybe the threat of picketers in front of the theater and the press coverage it would generate will wake them up.
thanks again to those who are giving me feedback. i know the other guys at the building will appreciate reading this.
aaron
Option #2...It may be better to just leave in search of greener pastures.
America is a great, big country. You can almost always do better. See option #2.
It is certainly the owner's right to pay you crappy wages, but it is also your right to seek employment elsewhere.
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. 
=TMP=
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.
I got paid 7/hour after just under 2 years to run 7 projectors, and help out in makeup/break-down. However, the head projectionist that has worked there for 30+ years makes somewhere around 9/hour.
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?
------------------
"The greatest thing you will ever learn, is just love and be loved in return."
Barry C. Martin
IATSE Local 182
That is the most ridiculously absurd idea I have ever heard. Do you have no sense of professionalism or CLASS? I think that the golden rule comes to play here ... do unto others as you would like them to do to you. There is no reason, even if management is being unreasonable, to stoop to their level. Give your proper notice, and move on, don't be childish and foolish about it.
Ahem...since when is THAT the golden rule?
I always thought it was..."He who has the gold makes the rules."
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.
I might be able to understand such a payscale in a single-screen theatre that doesn't do much business, but I think it's absurd in a multiplex situation where the projectionist is taking care of all the screens.
Having said that, I don't think you should burn bridges or be unprofessional. So I think you should give reasonable notice (maybe more than reasonable notice..maybe 3 weeks instead of two) and simply tell them that while you've loved working for them, you don't feel comfortable working in a place for a meager wage where there is no chance for advancement.
-or-
Bring in the union. At least they can get you some benefits.
Walking out would be a bad idea. Here is what you should do:
Research (like you are doing on here) and find out what other companies pay their projectionists. Get it on paper to show your bosses. You could also do this research by applying at other theatres and finding out what they hire a projectionist at (even if they do not hire you you can get a ball-park idea).
For me - the part that bothers me is - if you have been with them this long and they are not willing to sit down with you - then there is a serious problem in their operations. If you have stuck with them this long - it must not be as bad as you say - because I would have left a long time ago (if it were me).
Any town that I live in I keep a NETWORK of friends that work in the theatre industry. I go to lunch with them, dicuss the state of the industry -etc. etc. You never know when the world will drop out from underneath you - so keep a web of friends there for support. Even if they are your competition - you may need some help from them (and vice-versa)in the future. We are all in the same business -after all -we all need to stick together!
So good luck with your situation! I hope the right decsions are made.
:-)
------------------
"Running through life at 24 frames per second"
I say there are always three moves...Try to resolve an issue you have with an employer yourself.
Failing that either find an employer you will be more satisfied with (remember the grass is yellow everywhere!...some just more so and leaning towards brown)
OR consider collective barganing (unionization) it isn't wrong to consider. In fact, that is why unions came about...to HELP the worker, not hinder management.
Steve
------------------
"Old projectionists never die, they just changeover!"
I am positive that there are a lot of very proffesional organized operators who truly care about FILM DONE RIGHT, and not just a paycheck...
As to the whole "Show them how much you need us" thing that doesnt work it just makes you look foolish. I was in a situation once a long time ago where "Proffesionals" were purposely causing problems, all it did in the long run was make people realize how much they are not needed. The sad reality is most any theatre manager *could* walk up to a booth with maybe an hour's worth of training (or less) and run the machines, maybe not as well as you but they would run.
The FACT is that your company would have to NEGOTIATE with you in good faith, but thats all they are required to do they do not HAVE to sign a contract with you... They just have to bargain and try to reach a fair deal. It is also illegal for a union to PROMISE that you will get a contract just so you know.
And do me a favor if you decide to call OSHA about your booth have some self respect and do not intentionally damage things. I heard about one theatre in wisconson I think... yeah where the "operator" ripped all the circuit breaker panel labels off and hid them in his desk, The osha guy didnt find it too funny when he found them there... from what i hear.
First:
quote:
What I would do, and I wouldn't reccomend doing it since it may get you in some trouble one way or another,
So I wasn't suggesting doing that at all. I shouldn't have even wrote "What I would do" since that could (and did) imply I was being serious about it.
Second: Yes, I just meant it as a humorous anecdote of what one offbeat option to the situation could be. (Note to self: make use of smilies more.) I thought the cricket idea would have suggested I was joking, but now I'm thinking I should have used the moth example instead.
Third: Yes, the story of my friend's situation with walking out because of his dog is true.
I apologize if I upset anyone and promise to be more clear and careful with my posts in the future and leave such shennanegans for "Film-Yak"
=TMP=
By the way, try and NOT be the last person out the door on your final night. I always try and make sure that I am out of there and off of the property before the last manager leaves, or if it was my last night and I was to close alone, I usually request someone who will be continuing to work at the theater show up near closing time and leave with me. I can just imagine what would happen if that one night there was a break in...I would end up with the blame! Not cool.
I totally understand where you're coming from. After reading your post, I realized that we work for the same company. I have been at my theater (Showplace 12 in Columbus, IN) for nearly 2 years now, and i make a measly 6.25/hr. I don't do just booth either. I cannot give advice to get out of your situation, but I can give you sympathy from a fellow employee of this company
My family owns and operates a golf course, and I managed it for several years. I learned first-hand that when you make known your appreciation through small raises and verbal praise, you bring the best out of your employees. When you can walk in the door and say, "Hey Joe, I want you to know that you're doing a really great job and I really appreciate it," you accomplish a number of positive things, the most important being that you have let Joe know that you know his name and you know he does good work. Will there still be bad employees? Yes. Will you still have problems? You bet. But it is VITAL TO YOUR BUSINESS OR COMPANY TO KEEP THE BEST EMPLOYESS AND NOT LET THEM GET LOST IN A SEA OF NAMES AND FACES. PERIOD.
In this specific case with the booth, I think the issue is less about pay and more about feeling appreciated. I can certainly understand that. Good luck with whatever you decide to do, Aaron.
By the way, it's not my intention to slam upper-management. I appreciate the fact that they have different pressures and difficulties that I cannot understand because I have never been in THEIR shoes. My point is that it goes both ways. Like Jason said earlier in the thread, it should be a mutually beneficial pairing, and to reach that point, both sides need to do a better job of listening to each other.
His suggestion of not being the last to leave on your last night...especially if there was any friction between you and management...is a REALLY GOOD ONE!
I cannot elaborate on the situation too much due to some lingering legal proceedings and lack of time, but our company had a major issue that could have easily been avoided if this little tip had been in use.