Alamo Drafthouse employees at the iconic South Lamar location in Austin staged a walkout over the weekend, leading to canceled screenings and disrupted service for moviegoers. The protest, which employees referred to as a “sickout,” was aimed at drawing attention to overwhelming working conditions, low staffing, and stagnant pay.
The strike comes less than a year after the Austin-founded theater chain was acquired by Sony Pictures Experiences and follows corporate layoffs that cut more than a dozen positions earlier this year.
Major Austin Theater Sees 70% of Staff Walk Off
Roughly 70% of the workforce at the South Lamar location participated in the sickout, according to a Reddit post shared by employees. In it, workers warned potential patrons to cancel or reschedule their tickets, saying they were “guaranteed to get poor service if you get service at all.”
Employees claimed they were being forced to manage multiple theaters simultaneously, checking tickets, running food and drinks, and handling customer needs, due to what they described as extreme understaffing…