Brooke Shields has played a key role in helping roughly 80 employees at Casa Bonita unionize, bringing labor attention to the famed Colorado attraction owned by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone.
Shields, the president of Actors’ Equity Association, told CNN Business that she made an unannounced visit to the venue in March after learning of concerns raised by workers.
‘You try doing things respectfully, and then you’re not met with equal respect… so you have to resort to other tactics,’ the Suddenly Susan actress said, describing the visit as an ‘ambush.’
Casa Bonita has long held cult status as a Mexican-themed restaurant and immersive entertainment destination. Opened in the 1970s, the Lakewood, Colorado venue can welcome as many as 3,500 guests in a single day.
Parker and Stone purchased the theme-park-like restaurant in 2021, stepping in after the business had been pushed to the edge of bankruptcy.
Known for its indoor waterfall, winding cave areas and puppet shows, Casa Bonita employs a wide mix of workers, from cooks, hosts and servers to performers such as puppeteers and cliff divers.
Actors’ Equity president Brooke Shields (3-R, pictured March 27) helped unionize about 80 workers at Casa Bonita, the Mexican-themed restaurant in Lakewood, Colorado, acquired by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone in 2021
The 61-year-old former child star claimed the Emmy-winning showrunners (pictured June 7), aged 55 and 56, have not attended any of the 14 bargaining sessions with Actors’ Equity
The costumed characters, puppeteers, magicians and cliff divers are demanding $10 increase on their $26/per hour pay and a safer workplace including the 12.5ft-deep pool which allegedly caused hypothermia and chlorine toxicity
Actors’ Equity Association have filed seven labor complaints with the National Labor Relations Board against Casa Bonita management, accusing them of ‘engaging in a pattern of serious unfair labor practices.’
Daily Mail has obtained the claim letters, which detailed how AEA staged an ‘unfair labor practices strike’ between October 30 and November 1 of last year after management ‘cut all shifts for three roaming character positions.’
In November, management allegedly retaliated by discharging veteran employees who protested and then gave preferential treatment, including better pay and shifts, to newly hired employees, per the complaints.
In December, one of AEA’s negotiating team members was allegedly not allowed to work light duty nor file for worker’s compensation after a workplace injury.
Unionized staff claimed they received ‘baseless disciplinary actions for purported attendance policy violations’ and said management ‘created many scheduling problems’ leading to more discharges.
The costumed characters, puppeteers, magicians and cliff divers are demanding $10 increase on their $26/per hour pay and a safer workplace including the 12.5ft-deep pool which allegedly caused hypothermia and chlorine toxicity.
‘It’s just silence, radio silence,’ Shields alleged. ‘It’s just so disheartening because they’re putting their lives at risk, and they’re not being looked after.’
There’s also said to be no emergency action plan, no security for performers who have alleged being groped by patrons, and no active shooter policy.
Actors’ Equity Association have filed seven labor complaints with the National Labor Relations Board against Casa Bonita (pictured in 2023) management for ‘engaging in a pattern of serious unfair labor practices’
Parker and Stone showcased their real-life childhood memories of Casa Bonita in a 2003 episode of their Comedy Central cartoon where Cartman is on the hunt for the honey-glazed sopaipillas
Shields ‘ambushed’ the ‘Disneyland of Mexican restaurants’ on March 27 by hand delivering a letter to management asking for better wages
Of her visit to Casa Bonita in March, Shields said:
‘It doesn’t take long to feel how disparaging it is when you visit a place and you see young people excited to perform at the top of their game doing these crazy stunts, or entertaining people…[and] you go personally see them not being cared for,’ Shields said.
‘I’ve been on Broadway enough to know that it’s the ensemble, it’s the people that are there day in and day out … that are really sort of the backbone of what we do.’
In a statement to the Daily Mail, Casa Bonita management said: ‘At Casa Bonita, we value all of our team members and their well-being. As a policy we do not comment on ongoing labor negotiations.’
Daily Mail has reached out to Shields, Parker and Stone’s reps for comment, but has not yet hard back.
The South Park creators grew up in Colorado and loved visiting Casa Bonita when they were children.
Shields has likely never forgotten how the Tony-winning funnymen joked about her flatulence in their critically-acclaimed big-screen musical South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, which amassed $83.1 million at the box office in 1999
The duo told Jimmy Kimmel Live! in May that they bought the bankrupt establishment for $7-8 million in 2021, but extensive renovations made the cost balloon to $50 million before the 2023 grand reopening.
Parker and Stone showcased their real-life childhood memories of Casa Bonita in a 2003 episode of their Comedy Central cartoon where Cartman is on the hunt for the honey-glazed sopaipillas.
Shields has likely never forgotten how the Tony-winning funnymen joked about her flatulence in their critically-acclaimed big-screen musical South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, which amassed $83.1 million at the box office in 1999.
On May 28, Acorn TV renewed Robin Bernheim’s murder mystery You’re Killing Me for a second season, so the two-time Golden Globe nominee will return as bestselling novelist Allison Chandler and executive producer.
Shields also replaced Ginger Zee as host of the eighth season of first responder series Hearts of Heroes, which premieres July 11 on ABC stations.
