Latest news with #laborstrike
CBS News
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Former workers at Philadelphia's World Cafe Live allege unfair treatment, late paychecks
Former employees of World Cafe Live in Philadelphia are speaking out after walking off the job mid-show last week. They blame a leadership shakeup for creating chaos, claiming mismanagement and a failure to pay workers on time. Since 2004, World Cafe Live has been a home to emerging and established artists in Philadelphia. The music venue and restaurant has hosted more than 500 live performances a year. Leadership changed in April with new CEO Joe Callahan coming on board. Several employees who have been protesting what they call "unfair treatment" outside the venue were let go following their walkout last week. Former employees allege "an unacceptable level of hostility and mismanagement," and say workers weren't paid on time. Several shows at the University City venue were canceled this week amid the ongoing labor tensions. Callahan says this boils down to miscommunication and a failure of former leadership. He said the venue was struggling financially. He said any pay discrepancies have been corrected. "There wasn't an efficient handoff to where we were addressing the issues at hand based on the financial strain on the organization and based on the improvements and the [adaptation] … to get it to a breakeven standpoint," Callahan said. "So I think it was all led out of fear that was derived from unknowns that they weren't kept informed." World Cafe Live workers are not unionized. One former employee said it pains her to no longer work at the venue. "I wish that I was inside," one former employee said Tuesday. "There were shows that I was scheduled to work over the next few weeks, and I've worked every single week throughout other obligations, other commitments … We all want this place to survive, the reason why we're outside is that we don't think it can under these circumstances, under Joe Callahan." As for artists who have canceled performances, Callahan said that's also blowback from misrepresentation of information, and the venue continues to receive inquiries for new shows.
Gizmodo
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
Plague of Phone-Addicted Tourists Shuts Down the Louvre
If you're traveling to Paris in the near future, there is some bad news and some good news. The bad news: you likely won't be able to see the Mona Lisa or any of the masterpieces hanging inside the Louvre, because it's currently shut down. The good news: You'll get to see a strong labor movement at work. On Monday, staff at the world's most-visited museum went on strike, forcing the museum to close its doors over concerns about the effects of mass tourism, according to the Associated Press. The shutdown followed a weekend of protests against tourism that spread across Europe. In Spain, travelers hanging out at popular tourist destinations were drenched by demonstrators armed with water guns. Mass demonstrations also broke out in Mallorca, Venice, Italy, and Portugal's capital of Lisbon, per the AP, with locals leading chants like 'Everywhere you look, all you see are tourists.' The objection the residents have to the visitors is primarily their role in causing an affordability crisis, leading to things like housing costs skyrocketing as homes are sought after to be listed on Airbnb and other short-term rental markets. Overcrowding issues have plagued other hot spots across Europe, which are increasingly dominated by folks looking for a picturesque view, perhaps not realizing that their very presence is eroding the beauty. German publications Deutsche Welle recently highlighted how destinations popularized on social media like Instagram and TikTok have become overrun by visitors, pushing out locals and making the beautiful sights and sounds less accessible to others. In the wake of that growing movement, workers at the Louvre reportedly spontaneously decided to walk out during a standard staff meeting on Monday, per the AP. Gallery attendants, ticket takers, and security all refused to operate their posts, complaining that the crowds have become unmanageable and the museum is understaffed. According to a report from The Guardian, the Louvre sees about nine million people pass through its doors every year, and about 20,000 people per day stop to see the Mona Lisa. That foot traffic has gotten so untenable that it was announced earlier this year that the Louvre would be redesigned to give Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece a room of its own to help mitigate the impact of so many people wanting to stop and take a picture of the painting. A common refrain from people visiting the painting is that the experience is underwhelming because of how quickly you're ushered through the room with hundreds of others. 'You don't see a painting,' Ji-Hyun Park, a traveler from Seoul, South Korea, told the Associated Press. 'You see phones. You see elbows. You feel heat. And then, you're pushed out.' The painting's popularity has long been an issue for the museum, to the point that it has been suggested that the painting be taken down or moved. But with no standalone room ready yet, the painting still hangs in the museum. And with staff saying they simply aren't dealing with it, thousands of tourists with tickets in hand got left hanging on Monday, unable to see anything inside the glass pyramid. It's unclear when the museum will return to full staff and functionality, which will still leave the actual workers overwhelmed, but will get the tourism bucks flowing again.
