An Update from the Unionizing Workers at Alamo Drafthouse St. Louis
Hello!
Last week, the St. Louis Alamo workers went public with our intent to unionize, and it has been such a heartwarming experience to receive all the support from our local communities and those outside of our city. We wanted to give you an update as to how things are going, clear up some of the myths around unionizing, and tell you what our next steps are.
First off, since going public we have made significant progress with the union. We’ve been getting cards signed left and right, and are confident that we’ll be able to progress even further very quickly. We have also seen easy changes already implemented, including the removal of the notice before new movies that 100% of the tips you leave go directly to your servers. Unfortunately, announcing our intentions to the public also alerted our management and owners to our intentions and, as predicted, their responses have not been supportive. We have on multiple occasions witnessed and been informed of anti-union tactics, including but not limited to: distributed misinformation, small-scale firings and threats of large-scale terminations, hostility towards supportive workers, and pauses/cancellations to previously guaranteed promotions. To say this is disappointing is an understatement, given that we are NOT anti-Alamo, we are pro-worker. Some of the lies being spread about our cause are downright hurtful, bordering on ridiculous, and we hope the staffers targeted know that what they’re being told is false.
To that end, we also want to go into a little more detail about what we want out of this. While wages/tips are one of the focuses for our platform, they are not the only one. Minimum staffing levels and clearer, more consistent communication are also a big ask for us, as right now we follow fundamentally different procedures depending on which manager is working on a particular day. We also are requesting longer lead times with our scheduling, clarity on pay structure, backpay for employees who have been expected to train without a trainer wage, and several other issues we have agreed upon. And yes, the QR codes and service fee are part of that.
The myths we have seen so far have ranged from white lies, such as that the front of house workers are doing this to steal wages from back of house, to absurd, like the threat of firing the entire staff and upper management quitting on the spot if the union goes through. We know this is a fear tactic, and are not scared or threatened by what we are hearing. We are supported by each other, and by you, our community.
So, what are next steps? First, we need YOUR support! On social media, in reviews, to our faces if you come in for a movie. Having people fist bump or high five us when they see union pins makes it all worth it, and we know for a fact our owners scan social media daily. So please, let them know you want changes!
For us, once we reach a specific threshold of internal support, we will ask that management formally recognizes our union. In the incredibly likely event that we are not recognized, we will file with the NLRB for an election. Pending a successful union vote, we will begin contract negotiations. Of course, we will keep the community updated as we move forward, but it may not always be speedy.
We appreciate the love so far, we hope our union can provide the best moviegoing experience in St. Louis, for customers and coworkers alike.
Thank you again!