With layoffs rolling out across more Alamo Drafthouse locations across the country, the union representing Alamo workers in Brooklyn and Manhattan filed a complaint this week with the National Labor Relations Board accusing the company of using the tactic to put pressure on the union during contract negotiations. Tensions among Alamo employees have been running high since the recent acquisition of the circuit by Sony Pictures Entertainment.
In a series of posts on the social media platform X, representatives of the union at Alamo’s Brooklyn and Manhattan sites claim that the recent layoffs have been “financially unnecessary” and were done in “bad faith” while a new labor contract was being negotiated. The company had no official comment on these allegations, but insiders at Alamo told IndieWire that the cost reductions had been planned for some time.
One union representative told the Hollywood Reporter that while the company and union negotiators had discussed a reduction in staffing hours, the company had then “abruptly” ended those discussions and proceeded to announce large-scale layoffs. With these cuts hitting many Alamo locations, the union’s NLRB filing could have a significant impact on the direction that the theatre chain takes going forward.