Hello once again! It’s been a while, we here at the STL Alamo Union owe you an update.
Our last update here.
First off, we WON OUR ELECTION IN A LANDSLIDE! 47-28 in favor (and that’s with three confirmed yes votes being challenged and multiple supporters unable to vote due to travel.) Unfortunately, that’s where the good news ends.
Following the election, the legal team retained by Sony/ Alamo’s ownership raised some objections that we, charitably, think are idiotic. Due to the time it’s taking for these objections to be addressed by the National Labor Relations Board agent, the election has not yet been certified; therefore, we have not yet been allowed to elect a bargaining committee nor begin contract negotiations. Without delving too deeply into details of the objections themselves, we are confident in asserting that the allegations leveled against us are merely projection by ownership and management of offenses they themselves are alleged to be guilty of. For example, credible sources present inside the Alamo building during the election have alleged that several employees wishing to abstain from voting were subjected to intense coercion to participate in the vote (and submit a “no” vote) by certain members of the management team. We are hopeful that these objections are dismissed soon and the election certified, but that’s at the discretion of our agent. If the objections are found to have merit, we’ll need to go to hearing, which will further delay progress.
Furthermore, since the election, our upper management has gone from abrasive to outright cruel and unfair regarding their treatment of workers. In the last few days alone, we have had numerous long-term staff either be wrongfully terminated, written up, or driven to quit because of how negatively they’ve been treated. These are customer-facing staff that the community loves, these are people who have given literal years of their lives to this business, and all of that devotion and care is being thrown away because of a petty, vindictive corporation and leadership team that hates us for advocating for a better workplace.
When we tell you the reasons for termination are petty, here’s what we mean: Some of the write ups that have been doled out range from a person clocking out a mere two minutes after their out time, or taking canned drinks from the fridges despite multiple managers doing the same things in multiple instances even in the past few days. We strongly believe these disciplinary actions are targeted towards union supporters given how some of the timelines have worked out (literal weeks in between these supposed infractions and the employees being informed of/disciplined for them). This is on top of the continued character assassination towards former coworkers who we still argue were wrongfully fired prior to the election. Needless to say, this is abhorrent and unfair, and we are pursuing all avenues we have available to make things right for those specific workers in addition to the upcoming contract discussions.
For now, we are still committed to taking the high road and offering to come to the bargaining table in good faith, but the tyranny of Sony, our owners and general manager is beginning to erode that faith. We hope very much that they can soon see the errors of their ways, how their mistreatment is affecting not just our staff but our guests as well, and that our union is only here to try and make the Alamo better for everyone.
With all that said, we’ve had a lot of people ask us what they can do to support us. We are *not* calling for a boycott of the Alamo, nor are we calling for harassment towards any management staff you interact with. The best way to support us is to comment on Alamo’s social media, give feedback in person, and continue to support the business. Tip the staff well, give them words of encouragement, and let Alamo know that its staff deserves better. If you want an easy communication line without going to the building, feedback@drafthouse.com and managers@drafthousestl.com are good emails to keep in mind.
To any current, former, or future staff reading this: You are cared for, and you are incredible. You are what makes the business successful, not figureheads who sit in the office all day pretending they deserve a salary. Please never forget that.
To Sony, Marc and John - the franchise owners for the St. Louis Alamo - as well as upper management: There is still time to turn this illegal union-busting campaign around; you still have the opportunity to come to the bargaining table to negotiate in good faith. We are committed to making Alamo better for everybody, and we encourage you to prove the same thing.
Until next time!
(PS: Follow us at @drafthouseunitedstl on Instagram for more frequent updates!)
