Another Alamo Drafthouse Prepares To Strike
The Alamo Drafthouse is serving up labor issues. Last week, locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn filed an unfair labor practice with the National Labor Relations Board against the company, and now, a Drafthouse in Colorado has authorized a strike. Much like New York, employees of the Sloan Lake, Colorado, location believe the company broke the law by conducting layoffs during contract bargaining. Per The Hollywood Reporter, on February 3, 47 employees across three Colorado Locations were laid off. In retaliation, over the next few days, 100 percent of the employees at the Sloans Lake location, represented by the Communications Workers of America Local 7777, voted to authorize a strike.
According to the union, bargaining was still ongoing between the union and management when the layoffs occurred. Bargaining began in September, and nine sessions were completed, with another scheduled for next week. The CWA believes the company modified the contract and refused to bargain in good faith. The union filed with the NLRB on the day of the layoffs and has two unresolved unfair labor practices at other Colorado locations.
Last week, locations in New York also filed an unfair labor practice, claiming the company was bargaining in bad faith and illegally laid off employees during negotiations. Union representatives said management had declared bargaining at an impasse. The union disagreed, claiming “dozens of articles, basically most of the contract, [were] still on the table.”
Nationally, Alamo Drafthouse, which was acquired by Sony last year, has laid off dozens of employees. However, the company may have been bullish because it’s an opportune time for the theater workers, whose jobs must be hell on their backs, to flex some muscle. The first Marvel movie since Deadpool & Wolverine, Captain America: Brave New World, opens this weekend, and we’re sure that Alamo wants customers in theaters munching on Fully Equipped Dogs, Shield Spinach Salads, and Super Soldier Serum. How are they going to do that without anyone serving the Serum?