OGDEN, Utah — About a dozen employees at the Brewvies Cinema Pub in Ogden are going on strike, citing safety and security concerns after a recent break-in at the business earlier this week.
Posted outside the theater early Sunday morning, employees took a picture of the theater's marquee that read: "Now Playing[:] Employees on strike due to unsafe work conditions."
"No one was willing to work in that environment. We were all willing to stand up together and say no," said Cameron Smith, who has worked at Brewvies Ogden for the past five months.
FOX 13 News spoke to Ogden Police on Sunday, who confirmed that a break-in did happen at the business around 4:30 a.m. on Friday. They said the front door glass was smashed and items were taken.
The items stolen included several cash drawers with an undetermined amount of money inside them, according to police. They said they have not located a suspect, and the incident is still under investigation at this time.
Another employee, Niki Anderson, said the camera system wasn't one that made her or others feel safe.
"The camera system does work — it's kind of like your 'Ring' doorbell," she said. "You can see things, but we don't get notifications and there's no, like, alarm system on it."
Video below: Security camera footage of break-in
Employees also brought up some other safety concerns.
They shared photos, taken on Thursday, of a grill they said is inside the business.
One of those photos shows tape over the grill that says "Danger," "Unsafe Conditions," and the phone number for Dominion Energy.
"We did everything we could to clean it, the kitchen did," said Mariha, a Brewvies employee who decided to go on strike. "They even went under and cleaned the floor, but it constantly was ready to explode, and it didn't — the gauges didn't work."
They also shared a document with FOX 13 News that was issued by Utah Occupational Safety and Health.
The document shows that Brewvies Ogden received four citations, three of which were labeled as "serious" back in June.
That includes, according to the document from UOSH, a proposed penalty of $1,500 that pointed to electrical equipment in one of the theaters and projection booths that was not free from recognized hazards.
Moving forward, employees like Smith are hoping to see some changes made.
"I'm just going there to do a job, to do a very simple job. I shouldn't feel like I have to risk my life to do that," said Smith.
FOX 13 News reached out Brewvies Ogden by both phone and email but has not heard back at this time. We also reached out to the owner and district manager by phone, but our messages have not been returned as of Sunday night.
