So the doors are locked.
The music is silenced and our dreams are now memories.
The letter said the clubs owner Schuman had stage 4 cancer and that co-owner Webster was his primary caregiver.
Workers called for a boycott of the club beginning Oct. 25 over what they described as stalled contract negotiations.
Bar staff had previously gone on strike over two nights this summer.
Fast forward some years later while transitioning to the ownership side and holy shit man is it tough.
You’ve got the hard costs built in just to open- construction, labor, materials, equipment.
Believe it or not, all that money that comes in, goes out pretty fucking fast.
I’m sure it’s a similar situation in other industries.
Obviously, a venue with a historic 40-year run such as Berlin probably wasn’t carrying much debt.
Which again, is kind of a lot to ask when you’re terminally ill no?
But maybe that’s just me being a pussy?
(Fun fact- The first labor movements in the U.S. can be traced back to the early 19th century.
These were typically local and focused on specific trades.
As the Industrial Revolution progressed, working conditions in factories became increasingly harsh.
Workers faced long hours, low pay, and unsafe conditions.
Child labor was also rampant.
This led to growing worker discontent.
In response to these conditions, workers began organizing more broadly.
(Not the football league).
The AFL focused on bread-and-butter issues such as higher wages, shorter hours, and better working conditions.
It was more structured and pragmatic than its predecessors, advocating for skilled workers.
They basically invented strikes.
The event brought national attention to labor issues and was a catalyst for May Day labor movements worldwide.
This is where we’re at today.
p.s.- my Berlin story is pretty good.
Freshman year at Loyola, I knew how to get around Rogers Park and that was about it.
Anything south on the Red Line was uncharted territory for me first semester.
and Hamilton’s (r.i.p.)
the only two bars on/near campus.
We had this blazing hot girl in our class who was from the Caribbean, named Dre.
Picture Rihanna but with curly hair.
My friends and I obviously had to shoot our shot one night with her and her friends.
They said it was their favorite spot to go in the city and they’d be there around 11.
Again, I had no clue where we were going or what we were in for.
I immediately knew what it felt like to be a freshman girl walking up to a frat house party.
We had no other option but to tip our cap and admit we got played by those girls.
