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Cinemark doesn’t offer DP benefits
November 24th, 2008Gay-rights advocates who are pushing for a boycott of Cinemark Theaters over CEO Alan Stock’s support for Proposition 8 just got more ammunition for their cause.
Joe Blair III, who’s been an openly gay employee and consultant for Cinemark for the last 20 years, confirmed Monday that the company doesn’t offer domestic partner benefits to its employees.
Blair’s statement confirms previous comments made by Bob Shimmin, Cinemark’s openly gay vice president for food and beverage, in a column posted on 365gay.com. In the column, Shimmin suggested that Cinemark offers domestic partner benefits only to its employees in California.
Blair said Cinemark has an employment policy prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, but he said he was unsure about other policies and practices related to LGBT employees.
Blair serves as facilitator for Business Network Collin County, an LGBT business network that’s affiliated with the Collin County Gay and Lesbian Alliance. Cinemark is based in Plano, the largest city in Collin County.
Blair said he held various positions with Cinemark from 1990 until 2000, including regional marketing coordinator and director of IMAX theater marketing. Since then Blair has worked as a consultant for the company, including on marketing efforts geared toward the LGBT community.
Some in the LGBT community are pushing for a boycott of Cinemark, the third-largest theater chain in the U.S., because Stock gave $9,999 to a political action committee supporting Prop 8, a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in California.
Blair said he’s “totally torn†about the boycott.
“The company that I have worked for for nearly 20 years is not in any way an anti-gay company. Because of this great country that America is, Alan Stock certainly has a right to contribute money to anybody he wants to,†Blair said, adding that he was “disappointed†to learn about Stock’s contribution. “Just like Alan has a right to donate money, if people feel it’s appropriate to boycott, they certainly have the right to do so.â€
Cinemark isn’t included in the Human Rights Campaign’s annual Corporate Equality Index, which rates companies based on LGBT employment policies.
Darryl Herrschaft, director of HRC’s workplace project, said Tuesday that Cinemark isn’t included in the index because the company didn’t join the Fortune 1000 until this year. HRC sends surveys for the CEI to the Fortune 1000 each February. Cinemark joined the Fortune 1000 in April, meaning they will receive a survey for the first time in 2009.
The only other theater chain listed in the Corporate Equality Index is AMC Theaters, the second-largest in the U.S., which offers domestic partner benefits to its employees, according to HRC.
November 24th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
http://www.sfgate.com/webdb/prop8/
This is a great site to go to and find out who in Dallas are friends and foes.
November 24th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Let me save you some time.
Here are a list of the people who would like to take away our rights.
William Benac Support $5,000.00 TX Dallas 10/31/08 Details
Rachel Weidman Support $50,000.00 TX Dallas 10/29/08 Details
Leslie Bluhm Support $1,000.00 TX Dallas 10/28/08 Details
Linton Salmon Support $3,000.00 TX Dallas 10/28/08 Details
Brent Romney Support $1,000.00 TX Dallas 10/27/08 Details
Robert Kimball Support $2,000.00 TX Dallas 10/27/08 Details
Patricia Stark Support $3,000.00 TX Dallas 10/3/08 Details
Sandi Smith Support $200.00 TX Dallas 9/23/08 Details
Thomas Carmody Support $100.00 TX Dallas 8/28/08 Details
Robert Dobrient Support $100.00 TX Dallas 5/18/08 Details
November 24th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Jonathan Cannon
Occupation Officer/Executive
Employer FEDEX OFFICE
City Flower Mound
State or country TX
ZIP
Position Support
Amount $10,000.00
Payment type
Transaction date 10/29/2008
Committee name ProtectMarriage.Com – Yes On 8, A Project Of California Renewal
Betty Cochran
Occupation Vice President
Employer PORTER RANCH, INC.
City Denton
State or country TX
ZIP
Position Support
Amount $5,000.00
Payment type
Transaction date 10/28/2008
Committee name ProtectMarriage.Com – Yes On 8, A Project Of California Renewal
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Craig Cheney
Occupation Real Estate
Employer TRAMMELL CROW COMPANY
City Sugarland
State or country TX
ZIP
Position Support
Amount $5,000.00
Payment type
Transaction date 10/28/2008
Committee name ProtectMarriage.Com – Yes On 8, A Project Of California Renewal
Joseph Elmer
Occupation Executive
Employer PARKWAY CONSTRUCTION
City Flower Mound
State or country TX
ZIP
Position Support
Amount $9,999.00
Payment type
Transaction date 10/28/2008
Committee name ProtectMarriage.Com – Yes On 8, A Project Of California Renewal
Richard Ragsdale
Occupation Doctor
Employer RICHARD L RAGSDALE, DO
City McKinney
State or country TX
ZIP
Position Support
Amount $5,000.00
Payment type
Transaction date 10/28/2008
Chad Packard
Occupation Chief Executive Officer
Employer APPLE ORTHODONTIX
City Plano
State or country TX
ZIP
Position Support
Amount $5,000.00
Payment type
Transaction date 10/27/2008
Committee name ProtectMarriage.Com – Yes On 8, A Project Of California Renewal
Grace International Churches
Occupation
Employer
City Houston
State or country TX
ZIP
Position Support
Amount $6,301.63
Payment type
Transaction date 10/27/2008
Committee name ProtectMarriage.Com – Yes On 8, A Project Of California Renewal
Jeff Kent
Occupation Pro Baseball Player
Employer L.A. DODGERS
City Austin
State or country TX
ZIP
Position Support
Amount $15,000.00
Payment type
Transaction date 10/27/2008
Committee name ProtectMarriage.Com – Yes On 8, A Project Of California Renewal
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Contributor name Paul Quinn
Occupation Computer Consultant
Employer PLANET ACCESS
City Arlington
State or country TX
ZIP
Position Support
Amount $5,000.00
Payment type
Transaction date 10/27/2008
Committee name ProtectMarriage.Com – Yes On 8, A Project Of California Renewal
November 25th, 2008 at 5:23 am
Obviously we are well aware of this Web site and the list of contributors from Dallas. I have reported about it numerous times right here on this blog. The difference between the people listed above and Cinemark CEO Alan Stock is that he’s the head of a retail business that is a sitting duck for a boycott. Which makes you wonder what the hell he was thinking when he made the contribution of $9,999 to Yes on 8. Apparently, for all his presumed business sense, he wasn’t thinking at all.
November 25th, 2008 at 9:11 am
I thought is was odd to see APPLE ORTHODONICS…..as well as more than one Romney’s and a Cheney.
The thing that baffled me about this list…is the high number of people in Texas that were willing to shell out big bucks for something going on in California.
November 26th, 2008 at 10:34 am
What about Bob Shimmin’s claims that the company has an LGBT Liaison? I called the corporate office and they could direct me to no such person. Mr. Shimmin has told me that person can’t really give me more information, but refuses to identify that person or provide contact information. Today, he sent me to this webpage as a response to my further inquiries.
Any information?