NEW YORK (PIX11) – The chaotic dual-release of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” pushed workers at a second New York City movie theater to start a union effort, organizers with Nitehawk Cinema said.
Workers at Nitehawk’s Prospect Park location on Wednesday petitioned the National Labor Relations Board for a union election with broad support among the 100 eligible workers, according to organizers and the NLRB.
Existing safety, pay, and treatment concerns reached new heights at the Prospect Park West theater during the “brutal” Barbenheimer release – which brought swarms of movie-goers to theaters across the country over the summer, Nitehawk’s lead runner Ben Sepinuck said.
The period of sold-out shows ensured overtime and physical strain for workers without a fair split of increased profits, Sepinuck said.
“These problems are not new, though it has become clear that coming together as a workforce is the only way our concerns will be heard and taken seriously,” said Nitehawk organizers in a statement.
Nitehawk workers weren’t the only ones troubled by the pink and black whirlwind. Barbenheimer also sparked a union effort at Alamo Drafthouse, whose workers helped with the Nitehawk effort, according to Jordan Baruch, a concierge worker at Alamo Drafthouse’s Brooklyn location.
“There was insane burnout across the board… Everyone was just spread too thin,” Sepinuck said. “It was an extreme example, but it was kind of a wake-up call.”
Nitehawk’s efforts are just the tip of the iceberg on a huge workers’ rights movement in the service industry, Sepinuck said.
“Come see movies and treat the staff well and tip the staff well,” Sepinuck said.
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