Adventures in Urban Living - Entries

Is boycotting Cinemark a step toward equality?

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:58:29 -0800

The news that Cinemark Theaters CEO Alan Stock donated $9,999 to the Yes on Prop 8 campaign has sparked talk of boycotts. No MILK for Cinemark is one campaign trying to keep Cinemark from making a profit off the film about the assassinated gay right's icon while the CEO is helping strip away equal rights.

In an opinion piece for 365gay.com yesterday, Cinemark Theaters vice president Bob Shimmin writes about the controversy. As you'd expect he comes to the defense of his company,

"During my job interviews, I discovered that Cinemark has an LGBT liaison for community outreach; Cinemark provides domestic partner benefits for California team members; Cinemark hosts the annual Vancouver Queer Film Festival..."

Plenty of companies are happy to slap a pride rainbow on their logo if it will attract more customers, I'm really not impressed with this kind of marketing... er, I mean "community outreach". What really caught my attention, and that of most those who commented, was the part about offering domestic partnership benefits to California based employees.

If Cinemark actually had a commitment to treating their GLBT employees fairly, they would provide domestic partnership benefits to all employees, not only in California where they are legally required to. If actions speak louder than words, what they're saying is if they could legally do less for their GLBT employees, they would.

Shimmin provides a concrete example of the second class treatment GLBT employees receive from Cinemark, and the importance of truly equal marriage rights, in explaining how he and his partner had to give up their domestic partnership benefits in order to work for Cinemark,

"Two years ago, I was hired by Alan Stock, and my life partner and I relocated to Plano, Tex., from the San Francisco bay area. Moving to Plano and effectively leaving behind our cherished Domestic Partnership document, signed by California's Secretary of State, took much consideration."

As a vice-president, I'm guessing the salary made up for added costs like his partner not being covered under Cinemark's health care. What about those lower down on the corporate ladder? Is it right to deny employees outside California the same benefits their heterosexual colleagues have because they are gay?

I'm even more committed to boycotting Cinemark knowing how they treat their GLBT employees who don't have the same legal protections we have here in California.

"Be angry. Fight for change. We will win the battle for equality. But the battle will be won by cultivating support and understanding; not through blacklisting and misguided boycotts."

I agree with Bob Shimmin, let's be sure we don't unfairly boycott businesses who are committed to equality, but he's made it pretty clear Cinemark is not one of them. No MILK for Cinemark has links to find non-Cinemark theaters who will be showing MILK. I'm looking forward to seeing it at Castro Theater myself.

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