The layoffs hitting Alamo Drafthouse have roiled the union representing employees at two locations in New York, which is hitting back with a complaint to the National Labor Relations Board.
The theater chain, known for its in-theater dining, strict cellphone policy and cinephile-targeted programming, is the subject of an unfair labor practice charge filed on Monday by the United Auto Workers Local 2179. The union, which represents staffers at the company’s lower Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn locations, alleges in its complaint that the theaters “failed or refused to bargain in good faith” around reductions in force and requests for information from the union.
Under labor law the theaters were obliged to negotiate layoffs with the union as the parties are still bargaining a first union contract, UAW Local 2178 second vp Will Bobrowski said in an interview on Tuesday. The union and the theaters discussed some proposed staff cuts — and the possibility of instead reducing existing employees’ hours to an average of 16 hours a week, which the union favored, given that theaters often reduce hours seasonally — at multiple bargaining sessions.
But by the end of a negotiations session on Friday, management declared an impasse in bargaining over the layoffs issue, which Bobrowski claimed wasn’t possible when so many issues were left on the table at the time. “Impasse indicates that the parties have nothing to bargain further on and can’t move on anything,” the union official said. “There are dozens of articles, basically most of a contract, still on the table, in motion, back and forth. So there’s plenty to bargain about.” And starting at 9 a.m. on Monday, the theaters cut 40 staffers from the downtown Brooklyn location and 30 from the lower Manhattan location. Those cut were told they could re-apply for their jobs when the box office picked up again in a few months.
Bobrowski notes that this is the first time that the union has filed an unfair labor practice charge against the company, even after a hard-fought organizing campaign that culminated in successful union votes in the fall of 2023. “This was the first time that we had a blatant flagrant stepping over the line beyond what the law allows. Labor law gives employers an awful lot of latitude,” he said. On Tuesday the UAW Local leafletted the Brooklyn location, protesting the layoffs and promising, “We will fight corporate greed until victory,” following pickets at both New York locations on Monday.
Alamo Drafthouse declined comment. An insider close to the company disagreed with the union’s position on the talks and said the theaters would continue to negotiate in good faith in order to come to an agreement that worked for all.
The New York location cuts are part of the company-wide round of layoffs affecting both corporate and consumer-facing employees. In mid-January an insider claimed to THR that these cuts were part of a typical trimming of staff during a slower season at the box office, though some employees on Reddit maintained that the size of the cuts this time was unusual.
Alamo filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2021 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but hopes were raised for the future of the business following Sony’s purchase of Alamo Drafthouse in the summer of 2024. The acquisition marked the first time in decades (with a few exceptions) that a major studio purchased a movie theater, a practice once prohibited under the Paramount Consent Decrees, which were struck down in 2020.
For over a year, the union and management have been bargaining over key issues like wages, scheduling and workplace health and safety concerns with the theaters. Ogletree Deakins’ Matthew Kelley has been leading the talks for Alamo Drafthouse, while Eisner Dictor & Lamadrid’s Thomas Lamadrid has been negotiating on behalf of the union.
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