We previously highlighted union activity at the intersection of retail and healthcare, where pharmacists are being organized by Machinists. Those pharmacy workers claimed to need a union due to pandemic-fueled labor shortages and juggling a wide array of healthcare duties. Now, movie theater workers in scattered locations cite similar reasons and a different current event for their desire to unionize.
The so-called “Barbenheimer” phenomenon, a 2023 double feature release popularized by social media, saw opening weekend U.S. theatergoers plunk down over $235 million in ticket sales. This phenomenon, which involved the simultaneous release of two highly anticipated movies, led to a significant increase in customer traffic and operational challenges for the theaters. It might sound odd for Barbie and Oppenheimer to be a source of workplace controversy. Still, theater workers claim that the twin releases added chaos to a strained environment and felt their concerns were not adequately addressed. Naturally, unions swooped in and claimed to have solutions.
Like pharmacies, movie theaters exist at a crossroads of industries. Their job duties encompass box office, concessions, and operational duties, and they serve as front-line workers for customer complaints. The situation becomes more complicated in theaters with seat-side service for food and cocktails, adding to the “experiential retail” nature of moviegoing.
CWA and UAW are currently organizing in these dine-in theaters, where organizing activity was already bubbling up with earlier movie-theater union victories at Massachusetts’ independent Amherst Cinema and a few NYC-based non-profit theaters in 2023. This year, workers at long-lived NYC independent theater Cinema Village followed suit by filing for a vote to join UAW Local 2179 – that local has also recruited at dine-in theaters such as Brooklyn’s Nitehawk Cinema and multiple NYC Alamo Drafthouse locations.
In March, Brooklyn’s Nitehawk Cinema workers cited Barbenhemier as “a tipping point” that added to their frustrations over safety issues and low pay. They called the unofficial double-feature event a “madhouse” made worse by failing air conditioning and “floor sweat, " making stair climbing dangerous for those serving seat-side food. Nearby unionized Alamo Drafthouse workers described Barbenheimer as a phenomenon that “really pushed us to the edge” and took “a mental toll.”
Additionally, the Alamo Drafthouse situation is worth monitoring for its rapid developments. Thus far, UAW and CWA have unionized locations in California, New York, Colorado, and Texas, including in Austin, where the company is headquartered. The Alamo Collective Organizing Committee-CWA offshoot, a branch of the CWA that specifically focuses on organizing workers in the entertainment industry, is very active at Colorado Alamo locations, where the union could soon add another 87 members pending a vote in Littleton.
A potential wrinkle: In June, Sony Pictures purchased Alamo Drafthouse theaters, the first time in decades that a major studio will have owned a theater chain. This acquisition could potentially alter the dynamics of the union drive as it introduces a new player with its own set of policies and practices. We don’t know how Sony plans to reorganize or alter the working environment or possibly even reopen shuttered theaters.
Alamo Drafthouse management, for its part, is urging organizing workers to give the company another chance to make things right before future union votes, but the momentum has begun. Dine-in movie theaters present a unique set of challenges for employers, which is a strong reminder to promptly address workplace concerns.
