Alamo Drafthouse employees vote to unionize at Colorado location, push for union at another

Movie theater employees at one Colorado location of the Alamo Drafthouse are demanding union recognition while another is in the process of organizing a union. Employees at both locations cited a "litany" of unfair labor practices.

Workers say they're struggling to make ends meet while the company saw record profits in 2023. At both locations, employees have alleged delayed paychecks, workers' comp being withheld, ignoring safety hazards like gas leaks, failing to react "appropriately" to shooting threats and not addressing workplace sexual harassment complaints, among others.

The Communications Workers of America, which employees are unionizing with, says the company has unlawfully fired three people involved in unionization efforts, as well as other "union busting" activities, such as "targeted enforcement of previously unenforced policies and schedule manipulation," changing employee policies in an "illegal and reactionary manner" and "changing attendance policies."

"Our corporate leaders and management have been deeply abusive, incompetent, and negligent for a long time and this has resulted in the majority of us demanding we have a say about our working conditions through unionizing," Jett Magetti, who believes they were illegally fired for organizing a union, said in a statement Monday. "We are holding this rally to highlight and demand an end to this abuse and bring awareness to the struggles we face at the cinema."

A PR firm representing the Alamo Drafthouse did not immediately respond to telephone or email requests for comment.

RELATED: Alamo Drafthouse chain entering restructuring agreement

In 2021, the Texas-based dine-in theater chain said it had filed for bankruptcy and entered a restructuring agreement due to financial woes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Workers at several Alamo Drafthouse locations in California, New York and Texas voted to unionize over the past year. Since 2016, 10 unfair labor practice cases were filed with the National Labor Relations Board against the company in those same three states.

Employees in Colorado say they plan to rally at the Denver location at 4255 West Colfax Avenue on Tuesday at 5 p.m.