Some furloughed Alamo Drafthouse employees are upset with how the company is treating them and say the chain's actions undercut its stated values like 'doing the right thing'
- Last week, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema closed all of its locations in the US, along with major theater chains like AMC Theatres and Regal, to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
- Business Insider spoke with nine Alamo Drafthouse theater employees who have been furloughed, and one former employee who recently quit, who were disappointed about how the company handled the shutdown, which they said went against its core values.
- There are discrepancies in how employees at corporate-owned venues and franchise venues are being assisted during the furlough, which has left some employees saying they felt betrayed.
- When asked for comment for this story, an Alamo spokesperson pointed to an announcement Alamo made last week about a relief fund it has established and two weeks of supplemental pay that employees at corporate-owned locations are receiving (employees at franchise locations can't take advantage of these and have been encouraged to apply for unemployment).
- Four Brooklyn-based employees who Business Insider spoke to expressed confusion and disappointment in the supplemental pay, saying they were originally promised they would receive paid time off they may have accrued.
- If you're an Alamo employee who has been furloughed at any location, contact the author at tclark@businessinsider.com or DM him on Twitter @TravClark2.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Brooklyn venue was running like any normal day on Friday, March 13 - at least, as normal as possible under the circumstances.
Earlier that day, the specialty movie-theater chain announced that it would operate at 50% capacity in response to the coronavirus pandemic, along with larger theater chains like AMC Theatres and Regal. So when one food runner entered a theater at around 6:30 p.m. that evening, he expected to see a small audience. What he didn't expect was moviegoers sitting in silence and dimness with nothing on the screen.
"It was a surreal experience," he told Business Insider.
Alamo Drafthouse had indefinitely closed the Brooklyn location, as well as its Yonkers one. Those sitting in theaters could finish their food before leaving, but showings were canceled for the night.
The manager at the Brooklyn cinema gathered employees to announce the closure and the Alamo Drafthouse NYC Twitter account tweeted about it at 6:46 p.m. An official notification wasn't sent to employees until 9:37 p.m., based on a message obtained by Business Insider. By then, another employee, who was not working that night, told Business Insider that she had already found out via a video of the manager's announcement sent to her by a colleague.
It was just the start. By Monday, March 16, Alamo began closing all 41 of its US locations to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, and all of its theater employees had been furloughed, along with 80% of corporate staff members.
It wasn't alone. Theaters across the US are closed in accordance with national guidelines that limit public gatherings, as movie studios delay major releases and the box office grinds to a halt. Last week, the National Association of Theater Owners asked Congress for government assistance to help the 150,000 theater employees it represents across the country.
The entire movie-theater industry is feeling the full effects of the coronavirus. Many are out of work. But nine Alamo Drafthouse employees who spoke to Business Insider for this story all said they were disappointed not in being furloughed, but in how the company was handling the shutdown and treating its workers. They all requested anonymity out of fear of professional repercussions.
Alamo Drafthouse specializes in delivering a unique moviegoing experience. Customers are served food and drinks at their seats and there is a strict code of conduct once a movie starts. There's a zero-tolerance policy for lateness, cell-phone use, or talking. This has fostered a certain kind of community, both among its customers and its employees, that the company isn't afraid to boast about.
On its website, Alamo Drafthouse stresses that it doesn't "just want to be another multiplex." It lists its "core values," which include being "a force for good in our company, in our industry and in the world. We stand up for our beliefs even when it is hard. We start from a place of kindness." But the employees that Business Insider spoke to felt the company's recent conduct went against its values and mission that it expresses to the public.
There are also discrepancies in how employees at corporate-owned versus franchise locations are being assisted, some insiders said.
"I've poured my blood, sweat, and tears into this location and it feels like we're getting backstabbed," a furloughed employee at the Lake Highlands, Texas, franchise location told Business Insider.
Some employees feel they've been left to fend for themselves
When asked to comment for this story, an Alamo Drafthouse Cinema spokesperson declined to comment on specific questions and pointed Business Insider to a press release regarding what it's providing for employees at corporate-owned locations.
Alamo said that these employees will receive a "supplemental two weeks' worth of pay." Health insurance, for those who were eligible, will also be covered through the end of April.
But this doesn't apply to all locations, as about half of Alamo's theaters are franchises. These locations have their own policies.
Four of the employees that Business Insider spoke to work at Dallas/Fort Worth locations, either at the Denton or Lake Highlands, Texas, establishments. One employee works at an Arizona location. These locations are franchises, and the employees said that while Alamo is closed, they are not able to receive extra compensation or PTO. The Arizona employee's notice blamed this on the "financial health of the company."
These workers are left with little assistance outside of filing for unemployment. And some said they felt betrayed by a company that touts "do the right thing" and "foster community" among its values.
"We're still the Alamo brand, so I don't understand why they would exclude us," the Arizona employee said.
"I've been working there for 11 months and worked through Christmas and Thanksgiving," one Denton, Texas, employee said. "They constantly talked about 'fostering community' and 'doing the right thing,' then they just left us out to dry."
"No one is hiring," he added. "I don't have a real plan right now."
Alamo has also announced a relief fund it established through a non-profit called the Emergency Assistance Foundation. Alamo has contributed $2 million that only employees at corporate-owned venues are able to apply for, which Alamo said they would be able to this week.
Alamo said franchise locations are "managed in their respective areas by franchise ownership groups and are relying on their own resources to handle the closures." Two Texas (Laredo and Corpus Christi) and three Virginia (Charlottesville, Ashburn, and Woodbridge) franchise locations are participating in the fund through their own means.
"We're doing everything we can to help get our teams through the furlough period while making certain there will be a stable company to return to," Tim League, the Alamo Drafthouse CEO, said in a statement.
But the employees at the Arizona and Dallas/Fort Worth venues were also sent messages saying that the furlough "may turn into a permanent separation from employment of 6 months or more."
Some Alamo employees say there was backtracking and poor communication
But even the Alamo employees at corporate-owned locations said they thought the shutdown was handled poorly and felt in the dark about what was going on.
When Brooklyn employees received a PDF last week letting them know about the supplemental two weeks of pay, they were confused. They were originally promised they would get to use PTO they had accrued when the venue shut down on March 13, but weren't given a specific timeframe, as evidenced by messages provided to Business Insider and interviews with four Brooklyn employees.
But in an emailed response to a Brooklyn employee, League said that "too many people did not have PTO and we wanted to course-correct." Jon-Michael Rogers, Alamo's director of organizational development, said in a follow-up email to the employee that Alamo was looking at the average hours per week since January 1 "to determine the number of hours each employee will be paid."
The problem with this, according to some Brooklyn employees, was that some employees' hours were being cut leading up to the furlough. One worker said she was only working two to three days a week and "even then, I'd be told to go home early."
"My last paycheck was no more than $200," she said.
"The company pretends to be so progressive and care about its employees, but when we need them they act like any corporation," another Brooklyn employee said.
The PDF sent to Brooklyn employees also said that the furlough would remain through April 2 and would extend it if "federal state, or local authorities" require.
'I honestly don't know'
One former employee who left four weeks ago choked up when talking about his Alamo experience, saying that it was "heartbreaking" to reflect on because he loved the vibe of the venue and "being able to provide that for people."
For the employees who are furloughed, they'll have to consider whether they want to continue working at an Alamo venue once theaters reopen, whenever that may be.
"A lot of people have asked me if I would return to Alamo," a furloughed Lake Highlands employee said. "I honestly don't know at the moment. It depends on how they keep handling this."
If you're an Alamo Drafthouse Cinema employee who has been furloughed at any location, contact the author at tclark@businessinsider.com or DM him on Twitter @TravClark2
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