Employees from the eccentric Casa Bonita theme-park restaurant, now owned by the creators of “South Park,” sent a demand letter to ownership that called for a return to their previous pay structure, health benefits, and access to the famous owners.
50 employees of the newly-revamped Casa Bonita in Lakewood, Colorado, have spoken out against management after “South Park” creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker sunk a reported $40 million investment into the location.
The employees gathered in an all-hands meeting and delivered their list of demands to Stone and Parker, according to a statement to the Denver Post.
One of the contentious points was a shift to a no-tip pay structure, which allegedly came just days before the location reopened on June 23, 2023.
A flat wage of $30 per hour was implemented in place of a smaller wage and tips. That flat wage is more than double the state’s $13.65 minimum wage for 2023, according to Minimum-wage.org. It is also well above the average hourly wage in the state, which is just over $21 according to ZipRecruiter.
The group asked to revert back to the alleged original structure of $14.27 per hour plus tips, along with health benefits, and what the Denver Post described as “two-way communication with ownership.”
The employees took the questionable route of referring to themselves as “#WeAreTeamCasa” while enlisting the help of Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, the country’s largest restaurant workers non-profit.
On its website, the organization describes its “growing, diverse membership of 65,000 workers,” who are “women, people of color, immigrants, and members of the LGBTQIA community.” The site also boasts a diversity, equity, and inclusion statement on the front page.
Ownership and upper management reportedly ignored the demands after being given one week to respond and issued the following statement:
“Casa Bonita strives to create the best working environment for its employees. This includes implementing the best compensation structure for all employees—not just a few. To the extent some employees have concerns about our policies, we will continue to make ourselves available to discuss their concerns, individually or as a group.”
Employees insisted there was a “promise of lucrative business which would bring an incredible opportunity monetarily” and that they needed “to see more operating hours so that we can all be offered benefits, as originally promised to us.”
“This is a bait-and-switch – we were excited about the possibility of reviving a Denver institution, but what began as a really fun adventure has turned into a real-life financial nightmare”, said a recently fired bartender.
A reported 93 out of the venue’s 256 employees were affected by the change to the payment structure.
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