When Alamo Drafthouse workers at the company's Lower Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn locations unionized in the wake of Barbenheimer in the summer of 2023, many of them pointed to a culture of harassment and understaffing as their primary motivations for organizing.
Now, more than a year later, the union—Alamo United, which is affiliated with United Auto Workers Local 2179—still has no contract, and conditions have gotten even worse, according to workers. In June 2024, Alamo Drafthouse was bought by Sony Pictures Entertainment, and in January of this year, Sony laid off 70 Alamo Drafthouse workers in Brooklyn and Manhattan, roughly 20 percent of the workforce in those two locations.
Now, Alamo Drafthouse employees have had enough. Since February 14, dozens of workers have been on strike, which has forced both Alamo Drafthouse locations to cancel entire weekends of screenings and cut back on food service.