Cinema workers get Christmas present

Cinema floor workers at five Famous Players theatres had an extra reason to celebrate this Christmas--they finally signed their first union contracts.

"Falling squarely during the holidays, it made a beautiful Christmas present," said Charles Gagnon, president of the CSN local at the Parisien and Versailles multiplex cinemas. Since they first gained union certification almost three years ago in February 1996, workers there have fought a stubborn battle--including a nine-month strike and then a long, drawn-out conciliation process.

Gagnon says they gained sizable pay raises, the abolition of minimum wages, scheduling based on seniority and availability rather than favouritism, protection against sub-contracting and an end to the practice of management replacement during busy times.

At the same time the contract was signed, however, managers tried to lay down the law with its other downtown cinemas. They suspended Aliza Nevarie, president of the CSN local for the Loews, Palace and Eaton Centre cinemas, and enforced strict, new scheduling requirements. But the move backfired when workers there voted 96 per cent to strike just before Christmas, demanding a contract similar to the Parisien/Versailles deal. "So management agreed. Otherwise it would have been months before we had our collective agreement," Nevarie told the Mirror.

Half of Famous Players' Montreal-area cinemas remain non-unionized.

--Wayne Hiltz