Workers at Alamo Drafthouse Fight Back Against Unfair Firings

CWA Local 7777 members at the Alamo Drafthouse theater in Denver, Colo., walked off the job on Valentine’s Day in response to the company’s unfair layoffs and bad faith bargaining. The workers, who are bargaining their first contract, returned to work on February 18.

International media giant Sony acquired the theater chain last year. CWA members at the Denver theater contend that the firings have no financial justification and that during past slow periods workers accepted reduced hours rather than layoffs. “The company’s own financial data contradicts the need for these layoffs,” said Claude Grossi, who is a member of the bargaining committee. “Their outlook is optimistic, and box office projections show significant industry growth. This is not about economic hardships. It’s about corporate interests overtaking worker rights.”

Workers were terminated with little to no warning and neither severance, due process, nor opportunity to appeal. Since returning, workers have been denied their regular shifts, throwing personal schedules into disarray. CWA Local 7777 has filed a separate unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board over the blatantly retaliatory scheduling.

Alamo Drafthouse workers at two UAW Local 2179-represented locations in New York City also went on strike last week and have filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board citing bad faith bargaining during negotiations. The UAW members remain on strike.

You can send a letter to Alamo Drafthouse and owner Sony Pictures Entertainment via a worker-led letter-writing campaign and support fired union siblings through their GoFundMe page.

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This post originally appeared on cwa-union.org.