1 week Ago
Much has been written about the resurrection of Casa Bonita — a news staple since Colorado favorite sons Trey Parker and Matt Stone bought the COVID-shuttered Mexican restaurant and rescued it from bankruptcy in 2021. The Lakewood eatery’s cliff divers, arcade and more had made it a destination for local kids since the 1970s; it picked up a national cult following after Parker and Stone immortalized it in a 2003 episode of their long-running series “South Park.” News accounts over the past few years have chronicled the big-time comedy team as they turned part-time restaurateurs.
They invested their hearts, souls — and a whole lot of their show biz earnings — into rebooting and upgrading Casa Bonita. Yet, something had seemed missing from all the media coverage until a couple of weeks ago. That’s when a Gazette headline revealed, “Performers, crew at Casa Bonita announce plans to unionize.
” Of course! What effort to secure jobs and infuse capital into Colorado’s economy would be complete without organized labor pounding at the door and demanding a piece of the action? The restaurant and its employees seemed to get along just fine without a union at the table for decades — before its rebirth gave it celebrity status. What probably got the attention of the Actors’ Equity Association and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 7 was when The Gazette reported how Casa Bonita’s new owners wound up pumping $40 million into the restoration. Casa Bonita is a labor of love for Parker and Stone, whose net worth is well north of $600 million apiece.
They don’t need the money; whatever the restaurant takes in would be a drop in the bucket to them. And they might be willing to spend what it takes — even if it means giving the unions their cut — to keep the place dishing out Mexican food and loads of fun. For the unions, on the other hand, it’s a big payday.
More dues-paying members filling union coffers; more clout at the bargaining table when they stare down yet other employers, and the enhanced cachet of having picked off a business with star power. The labor bosses weren’t about to let that opportunity slip by. Casa Bonita’s management issued a news release saying the conciliatory kinds of things management is expected to say in anticipation of union bullying and arm twisting.
“Casa Bonita values all its employees and their safety and believes they are treated well and compensated fairly,” the statement read. “We respect the rights of our employees and believe they should be entitled to vote on whether they are subject to a union.” By all accounts, the employers are in fact getting top dollar in the industry for their respective jobs, which shouldn’t come as a surprise given the ownership.
So, where’s the beef, and why the need for a union? A union news release — attributed to the Casa Bonita employees who purportedly seek to unionize — offered the vague truisms that accompany every attempt at unionizing a workplace: “...
A strong union contract could help us solve the challenges we’ve encountered around safety, scheduling, compensation and communication.” Some of the divers have gone on record with a few procedural safety concerns; surely management will be willing to listen to them. Any other “challenges” remain unclear.
Let’s just hope the unions don’t get so demanding that their newfound cash cow runs dry. For all of Parker and Stone’s enthusiasm, there’s probably a limit to their generosity. The Gazette editorial board.
