Workers at World Cafe Live terminated their employment on Wednesday in a walkout demonstration, expressing discontent with the new management.
Going On at World Cafe Live: Staff Protest, Demand Change
World Cafe Live, a Philly staple for 20 years, found itself in the midst of an unexpected uproar recently. On a Wednesday evening, just before a Jazz Jam performance, several employees walked off the job in a bid to air their grievances against venue management.
In response, management reportedly terminated these workers, and the next day, a dozen individuals gathered in front of the venue's Walnut Street doors to maintain a picket line. The grievances ranged from executive incompetence and hostile treatment by leadership, led by new CEO Joseph Callahan, to wage disruptions and unclear expansion plans.
Front-of-house manager Arely Pena expressed frustration over delayed payments to both staff and artists, claiming several experienced senior workers had left, and the proposed expansion into digital streaming content lacked transparency[1].
"We want to get paid on time. We want to get paid accurately," she said. "We have no idea what's going on. We were told that there was a plan. Now, we're getting told that the future is uncertain."
The staff — not unionized yet acting as an informal collective — are committed to picketing until the organization's leadership agrees to a meeting[2].
Pay Disruptions, Departures Cast a Shadow
Chris Dreyer, an audio engineer, joined the walkout in support of the forced departures of well-respected senior figures in the organization. According to Dreyer, the situation escalated until it reached a boiling point during Wednesday's Jazz Jam[3].
Dreyer learned of his termination via email while picketing on the sidewalk. "At some point, you got to choose the people that you're fighting with," he said. "I'd rather fight with the people out here than for the few people inside."
Among the senior staff who have parted ways with WCL is Chief Operating Officer Kerry Park, previously recognized as a Pollstar "Woman of Live" honoree[4]. She left the organization without comment, boarding a flight to London on the day she departed.
A Venue in Turmoil
World Cafe Live was established in 2004, sharing a building with UPenn radio station WXPN and its syndicated World Café program. While the two entities are separate organizations, they share the same building[1].
WCL became a nonprofit organization in 2019, merging its live music venue with its education initiative, LiveConnections. The former CEO, Hal Real, was integral in creating the National Independence Venue Association and lobbying for the passage of COVID-era legislation releasing $16 billion in federal funds to ailing live performance venues[5].
The statement from WCL claims the venue was $6 million in debt when Callahan took over. With no prior connection to WCL, Callahan entered with a plan to integrate a streaming virtual reality platform into the concert venue[2]. However, it remains debated whether this is the future of live music among the striking workers.
Stay Tuned
Join us in monitoring the situation between World Cafe Live and its staff as it unfolds. The organization's response to these widespread grievances and allegations will be crucial in determining the course of events in the days to come.
Sources:
- https://whyy.org/segments/workers-picketing-outside-world-cafe-live-demand-meeting-ceo/
- https://www.phillyvoice.com/world-cafe-live-worker-strike-philadelphia-wcl/
- https://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/news/union-nonunion-chris-dreyer-world-cafe-live-jazz-jam-wcl-protests-dropped-tickets/
- https://www.pollstar.com/article/women-of-live-kerry-park-profile/
- https://nivab.org/
- The protesting staff at World Cafe Live, led by the front-of-house manager Arely Pena, are voicing concerns about finance-related issues such as delayed payments, wage disruptions, and unclear business plans.
- The staff's opposition to the new CEO Joseph Callahan's leadership extends beyond finance, with allegations of executive incompetence, hostile treatment, and lack of transparency, which have reportedly led to the departure of some senior figures like Kerry Park.
