Chicago’s iconic LGBTQ+ bar, Berlin Nightclub, is permanently closing after 40 years of business. The club made the announcement on Nov. 21 on its website after previously highlighting extreme demands it was facing from Local 1 Union earlier this fall.
“The party ended at 5 a.m., Nov. 19, 2023 – nearly 40 years and more than 10,000 nights from when it all began,” Berlin said on its website.
Following the club’s reopening after the COVID-19 pandemic, Berlin’s employees elected to have union representation in April 2023, according to an open letter from the club’s owners in October. These employees are represented by UNITE HERE Local 1 Union.
In June, Local 1 presented the nightclub with its economic proposals. Owners Jim Schuman and Jo Webster said that despite good faith negotiation efforts and attempts “to achieve a reasonable contract that all parties can live with,” the union made unattainable demands in its proposals.
The union’s proposals aim to redefine full-time status for workers, extending benefits such as healthcare, pension, vacation and sick pay to those working even one day a week (<7.5hrs), paid in full by Berlin. This includes offering fully paid healthcare at $969 per month and pension contributions of $635 monthly for such workers. Additionally, they propose significant hourly raises: $13 for bartenders (average $57/hr), barbacks (average $47/hr) and coat check workers (average $35/hr), and a $10 raise for security workers (average $22.50/hr).
Given the nature of the nightclub, Schuman and Webster said, “Berlin is not, and for 40 years has never been, a true full-time employer. None of Berlin’s union employees work more than 27 hours per week; Berlin is only open 25 hours per week. More than half of our employees only work 14 hours per week.”
Adhering to the union’s demands would require Berlin to spend an additional $1,600 per employee per month, according to the owners. The additional wages, healthcare and pension benefits would cost the club $500,000 in the first year of the contract alone.
“It would be nice to pay the employees what the union wants. Unfortunately, agreeing to the union's demands will make Berlin non-competitive, and result in a large increase of costs to our customers, causing Berlin’s patrons to go to other venues,” Schuman and Webster said.
UNITE HERE Local 1 Union represents over 15,000 hospitality workers across Chicago and Northwest Indiana, according to its website. Its members primarily work in hotels, O’Hare and Midway airports, restaurants, school cafeterias, stadiums, convention centers and casinos.