Casa Bonita Workers Will Still Face Nasty Gases, Drunk Patrons, But Now As a Part of a Union
After two months of organizing, the eight-person union in Casa Bonita’s Arcade Department has been voluntarily recognized by management.
Opting to go through the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 7 rather than coordinating their own election process, Arcade Captain Dayanara Lopez said this recognition, which came on on July 1st following “a third-party card check,” could herald positive changes at the Trey Parker and Matt Stone-owned eatery.
“All we want is a better work environment, and by joining together with our coworkers, we feel like it’s truly possible,” Lopez explained, per IATSE. “Union representation for us in the arcade means that we can be treated with the fairness and respect that we deserve.”
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Casa Bonita reopened its doors following a lengthy renovation in October 2024, and workers initially attempted to unionize through both IATSE and Actors’ Equity after experiencing “insufficient training” as well as “abusive patrons emboldened by alcohol,” according to a statement released last fall. Though they weren’t yet voluntarily recognized, the group pressed on, working it out through the National Labor Relations Board instead.
The more recent efforts for this small arcade team to unionize started up again in May, when all eight team members signed authorization cards, citing lack of job security, unfair pay and inconsistent shifts.
We’ll have to wait and see what the future of Casa Bonita’s larger union holds, but it appears employees may still have to deal with concerning odors, hordes of camera-wielding influencers and rowdy South Park fans.
In the meantime, we encourage management to look to the wise words of Eric Cartman in fairly compensating their staffers: "Anything that’s fun costs at least eight dollars” — or more than whatever the minimum wage is in Colorado.
