NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Projectionists at an Alamo Drafthouse in Brooklyn, the movie theater chain known for serving food and drinks during screenings, filed a petition to unionize with the National Labor Review Board on Wednesday.
Two days after the petition was filed and one day after the NLRB sent official notice to the company, Alamo sent an internal email notifying staff of the company's intention to do away with the projectionist position and replace it with a more expansive “technical engineer” role.
Alamo claims the decision to cut projectionists was made "long before the NLRB petition."
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 306, the entertainment industry union that Alamo workers are petitioning to unionize under, said projectionists had been organizing before the union heard about the position change, and speculated the company could have been aware of the push to unionize when the decision was made.
In addition to taking on many of the responsibilities of projectionists, technical engineers will be responsible for preventative maintenance of equipment, orchestrating testing and evaluating new projection technology, according to the email which was obtained by 1010 WINS.
The company invited current projectionists to apply for the new role, but those who are not rehired will lose their jobs.
The application will go live on June 12 and the company is aiming to implement the new role by July 7.
“If projectionists aren’t staffed full time, then presentation quality will most likely suffer,” said one worker at a New York City Alamo theater who requested to remain anonymous because they are not authorized to comment on the change. “I think in the new position, staff will be asked to fix presentation issues after things have already gone bad.”
When asked about the changing position and the petition to unionize, Alamo said the decision to scrap projectionists was made in response to changes in the industry, not labor organizers.
"Our theatrical presentation has always been — and always will be — held in the highest regard," said a spokesperson for Alamo Drafthouse. "Over the past several months, the Presentation Team has conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the projectionist role, taking into account the evolving nature of the industry, the advancements in technology, and the continued success of our teammates. As a result of this evaluation, we have decided to introduce a new career path for Projectionists as Technical Engineers."
"This transition, announced prior to the NLRB petition, will come with an increased compensation package and additional responsibilities that were not previously associated with the role," the spokesperson continued.
Michael Fewx, a union representative with IATSE 306, said he first heard about the change after he and the projectionists had started organizing the union drive.
“I was already in the process of organizing them when I first heard about it, so I don't know if Alamo was already aware of the union sentiment that was growing in the workplace when they came up with their plan, but I'd have to believe they were," Fewx said. "I really don't see why else a movie theater would want to get rid of their projectionists.”
“I think Alamo's decision to remove the job title 'projectionists' from their movie theaters and rebrand those employees as something else doesn't change those workers' ability to organize their work place, but it does reinforce the constant threat workers face when organizing,” he continued.
Technical engineers are listed as part of the petitioning workers’ bargaining unit, the subset of workers who would be represented by the union if organizers are successful in getting more than half the vote during the election.
Workers are allowed to request an election by filing a petition once at least 30% of a bargaining unit has committed to supporting the unionization drive.
The NLRB identified 10 workers in the bargaining group. Projectionists at the Alamo location in Downtown Brooklyn filed the petition, but IATSE Local 306 said the organizers aim to represent all Alamo theaters in the greater New York City metropolitan area.
The Brooklyn theater is not the first Alamo Drafthouse to seek unionization.
Workers at the chain’s flagship location in Austin voted to unionize in February 2022, becoming the first group to do so in the company.
This group, called Drafthouse Workers United, filed under the International Workers of the World, a union that represents workers in any industry.
DWU’s bargaining group included all workers in their theater excluding salaried managers.
At the time, workers said they were looking for better wages and benefits, including paid sick leave and more robust COVID-19 protections.
“I love the Alamo Drafthouse, and it deserves to be a place that’s worth working for,” said Duncan Lott, an organizer at the Austin location, in an open letter regarding the decision to unionize. “It stopped being a place that’s worth working for when it stopped giving a s**t about its employees and guests. It stopped being a place that’s worth working for when it stopped fostering community and became an unsafe place to spend downtime.”
Workers at a San Francisco location filed a petition to unionize in late October 2022.
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