Alamo Drafthouse Made Millions. Exhausted Workers Said Enough

Altamont Capital bought out the beloved Alamo Drafthouse, a cult classic cinema chain for movie lovers.
Then they stared slashing costs - and quality.
Now workers across the country are leading an uprising to save the theater chain. And they're winning.
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[@me0101001000]

Remember when those articles saying "Millennials are killing "? It was private equity all along.

[@doomsdayrabbit4398]

Private equity owned by boomers.

[@American-Motors-Corporation]

Oh I know right? Those evil terrible horrible millennials! Certainly say that I wasn't ate the thousand eight I mean notice how the economy was officially announced to be in the shitter, then notice how the false religion of work ethic shows up with of course the work ethic propaganda? Of course they turned it into yet another dick measuring contest these idiots fell all over each other trying to put so each other for the brownie points, they're stooges it's right where the companies want them. So basically a fair portion of society has been working off of the enthusiasm of propaganda. And especially since the cost of living has gone upsell nobody's really buying into that propaganda anymore it's wearing off. Yes I can say that there's a fair amount of the elder gen xers but with the Boomers that still buy into it but of course I say examine what those people that advocate for this shit are making those are they've got theirs that's why they believe in it they have the level of affordability that the rest of us don't have. Yeah I mean the difference between the haves and the have nots as becoming extremely obvious the haves or at least those who seem to think they've got something better generally go with the bullshit. Those that struggle to basically see through the system and how it is technically garbage. There are those that want to point the finger to capitalism it's not capitalism itself is fine it's crony capitalism it's fucking everything up basically what you have between private equity firms the hedge funds and of course all the other slush funds out there whether it's political or even bigger business. And then of course you end up with those who constantly talk about how the bird flipper was never meant to be permanent job well that's where they're completely fucked in the head and they need to research because from the 20s through the mid to late 1960s yeah there was grown men who had this jobs or they were jobs that were meant for the better half as a supplemental income to the family they devalued those jobs. I'm 39 and I know this because I come from a business oriented background, in fact I used to own my own business and a hell of a lot of research on industry the retail trade which is my specialty but subsequent other sectors of the market I can certainly say a lot of these people have it wrong, they are regurgitating the same corporate corpate horshit that's been bestowed upon the public since the 1970s. I mean I may come off a bit funny given my point of view did I do believe that everybody is underpaid however I caused you say that my father back in the 80s had organized in a shit hole of factory. My family's business history is that of small business they were never a large corporation they weren't even considered medium. My business was in the realm of small business they were not medium size. But yes I can definitely remember the era of blame the millennials for everything which there's still a few idiots that do that.

[@benbeesley4277]

We were being fed a giant lie about how Red Lobster was going under because of their All You Can Eat Shrimp deals but surprise, surprise... It turned out to be private equity firms.

[@richardlandrum1966]

Oppression 101: sow division however you can (by age, race, gender, politics etc.) else the oppressed realize they have ALWAYS had the numbers

[@waffles3629]

Bingo. It's blatant blame shifting.

[@gordonmills2748]

My favorite movie theater is a "discount" theater owned by a local real estate developer. I'm pretty sure he's losing money off of it, charging $3.50 for a ticket and half what the big chains charge for drinks and popcorn, but he doesn't care. Because the minute you walk in there it is obvious that he loves movies. He shows art house films, foreign films, has "family nights" where he shows movies you can stream at home for nothing, but it's not about the money. It's about giving people the experience of going to the movies.

[@vxicepickxv]

That's definitely a passion project.

[@DerrickDX]

Name?👀

[@thetragicallyhiphippo]

I wish such a place existed where I live

[@American-Motors-Corporation]

Well not necessarily she doesn't actually need to say that because making it up in volume as long as he actually is able to maintain a decent volume of customers he can more than make up the difference. That's actually one of the oldest tactics in businesses to undercut the competition by what you can afford and then make up the difference in volume.

[@JoshTheWhale]

I live in EU, but I feel with y'all... Anyways, NAME? ❤

[@GaleOfTheVale]

more like: Private Equity is Killing Your Everything

[@shadowsonicsilver6]

Literally!!! They’re invested in companies responsible for producing products meant to intentionally harm or un-alive an individual.

[@zildjiandrummer1]

my neighbor is a private equity investor and he's nice but yeah, people like him are basically destroying our society from the inside out, should I tell him?

[@3lapsed]

This! I was just about to post how they've bought up every industry and are killing them all off constantly

[@VerticalVictoryGarden]

That’s because they don’t actually “buy” the business. The purchase price does go into the OE pocket, but the purchased is leveraged with about 90% of the debt being laid on the business. No business can survive that type of debt. The PE just file bankruptcy, wash away the debt and pocketed the purchase. Only the right legislation can solve the structural problem. But we know why it’s allowed.

[@dao8805]

The ONLY candidate committed to putting an end to private equity is RFK Jr. He has done several videos on it, while the other candidates are not even talking about it. It's widespread and ultimately effects all of us whether you are an employee, small business owner or consumer.

[@PhilTheBronxite]

Private equity firms should be banned.

[@JohnFnLopez]

Here here! Absolutely!

[@BOZ_11]

@@JohnFnLopez hear hear*

[@mktf5582]

Not just firms but practises/MO, example = Glazers family UTD, they are a private equity I'm all but name.

[@BOZ_11]

@@mktf5582 and the Glazers are so rich they can't even call a roofer to fix the embarrassing leak that millions of people can see on TV 🤣🤣🤷‍♂🤷‍♂

[@TheDizzieC]

All private ownership should be banned. The only true investment is time and labor. Capital investments are basically just necromantic magical to unnaturally increase the worth and life of a company.

[@df20001]

Private equity is killing *everything*

[@dao8805]

Indeed it is and it needs to be stopped. The only candidate even talking about this huge issue is RFK Jr. and he is committed to stopping it. He has several videos on his channel demonstrating the predatory nature of private equity toward employees, consumers and small businesses. The other two candidates will just continue to let PE take over everything. Kennedy is the one who will put an end to it.

[@matthewingerson]

More directly, the corrupt wealthy-class & their corrupt RW-politics. "Private Equity" is owned by the corrupt wealthy-class, and they use their corrupt RW-politics to further legalize & entrench their corruption. But your sentiment is agreeable.

[@damunzy]

Capitalism is working

[@intuitionz1198]

​@@dao8805the man is a nutter. I don't care if he is pretending to tackle an issue. no more anti-vax nonsense. and especially no more candidates paid for by the Republican party. I really wish someone would tell me what people see in this man. it's not like he's trying to hide his crazy.

[@user-go7zy3fc5f]

It already did

[@hairypotter259]

Private equity is single handedly ruining everything for everyone lol

[@Mockduck2020]

That and the fact corporations have more rights than the actual citizens

[@Carakav]

I moved away from Texas in 2020. It's a shame this happened to Drafthouse. It was such a cool theater chain. But now that it's been purchased by private equity, I can't see how it will survive more than a few years. Even if the union goes through, the philosophy of these PE companies is to suck their assets dry of all value, not to actually make a profit or deliver a product.

[@shadowsonicsilver6]

Vampires

[@katherenewedic8076]

sadly, someone needs to sell to them. purchases are often under false promises, but all the same, people are selling and buying into p.e.

[@peterparker2068]

Do you know the reason they sold. I don't know too much about this industry, just seems like it might hit a point where it would be difficult to be profitable. Maybe the owners saw peak of cinemas and decided to sell. Then private equity think they could come in and squeeze out some more profits. Now they are finding it difficult to do so.

[@kikijewell2967]

The term is "pillage."

[@benjousan8470]

All 5 DFW locations closed this morning.

[@mattiasalegro]

As a former Alamo Drafthouse server of 5 years, I left before the pandemic, but these problems of upper management, not having a means of working up or career path, and overworking employees were present even then. I thank everyone here for speaking out. Alamo is still one of the best places I've worked, but it's hard to have pride for a brand that doesn't care about it's employees.

[@SgtJoeSmith]

how do you overwork taking tickets in an AC theater. Im a landscaper and auto mechanic running 6 businesses at 0nce and mowing 25 yards a day btw and then working on trucks till 2 am. And what kind of upward career path is supposed to be at a theater. you are either a min wage 16 year old employee or you own the theater. there is nothing else. go buy a theater if you want to move up in your career. that is literally your next step from making popcorn! or you go work for a landscape company and become a crew manager, multi crew manager, dept manager, regional manager, franchise sales manager, national manager, director of global operations, cfo, coo, ceo. the problem isnt companies. the problem is you are lazy and stupid!

[@nastialeshchinskaya5424]

Yes I worked in Brooklyn until the pandemic and the problems described in the video, especially the unethical scheduling practices of cutting people right before their shift, calling people in on their day off, and taking people off insurance, were all present. And of course the bragging emails after a big opening weekend. It was not a healthy place to work, but I did make friends for life.

[@TheDizzieC]

​@@nastialeshchinskaya5424I've heard that Brooklyn is actually the worst Drafthouse to work at.

[@optimumfilms]

It's a movie theater. Did you expect there was a ton of middle management in the actual stores? 😂

[@mattiasalegro]

@@optimumfilms I think maybe you don't know how the Alamo Drafthouse, or jobs in general, work.

[@guymartz8262]

You might want to check your union pension funds to see if they own any private equity, might be an eye opener.

[@edalder2000]

As in those pensions don't exist.

[@davidszmagalski4233]

No union pensions speaks volumes.

[@guymartz8262]

@@DP-sh3nk in this day of age where it's encouraged to analyze the assets that are owned and wether they fit the social image put fourth. The reasons given to organize a work force to give a voice to a business that is run by private equity. Imagine belonging to union pension and the pension fund holds assets in the very private equity fund that is your adversary at the negotiation table.

[@sws212]

@@DP-sh3nk Pension funds invest based on liquidity. VC and PE are generally longer term based on their risk and it's usually diversified enough to help mitigate the loss of any one PE firm doing poorly unless that pension itself is ran extremely poorly which is it's own thing but even if any invested PE fund did crash and burn, the employer would still be required to cover any deficit between the expected payments contracted to their employees and held assets. This is historically why we have less and less pension funds; because employers don't want to take any investment risk and would rather employees make their own funds through 401ks, IRAs, etc. I don't know if any union owned pensions but the same rules apply where the union would need to cover the deficit as well.

[@bigcrazewolf]

Private Equity Is Killing Everything

[@adelefortin6913]

Private Equity already owns the world

[@stalesnail146]

Is this a new code word ?

[@matthewingerson]

More directly, the corrupt wealthy-class & their corrupt RW-politics. "Private Equity" is owned by the corrupt wealthy-class, and they use their corrupt RW-politics to further legalize & entrench their corruption. But your sentiment is agreeable.

[@eaglesclaws8]

​@@stalesnail146 bourgeoisie...

[@jodiehighroller9820]

@@eaglesclaws8Jews

[@JohnFnLopez]

Democracy is always in decline, and requires constant protest. Unionize is the absolute BEST way to preserve and protect democracy because it puts power into the hands of workers. No politician can do that. Only YOU can unionize!

[@SgtJoeSmith]

thats called dictatorship. democracy is when you quit and go mow yards if you want more money

[@personnesenki4521]

What does a company buying a failing movie theater chain have to do with democracy?

[@SgtJoeSmith]

@@personnesenki4521 he smoked so much crak and sucked so much dik he dont know what hes talking about

[@blindey]

@@SgtJoeSmith Making a union isn't anything to do with a dictatorship. Unions are made up of the workers in the workplace.

[@SgtJoeSmith]

@@blindey then why don't the union own the work place and have a democracy

[@PaulGaither]

The most troubling aspect of unions is that we, as a nation, fail to truly unite across all labor sectors to advocate for comprehensive national laws protecting labor rights. This lack of solidarity weakens our collective bargaining power and leaves workers vulnerable to exploitation. It's time we recognize the power of a united labor movement and push for national reforms that ensure fair wages, safe working conditions, and job security for all.

[@annmarieknapp]

Corporate greed never ends.

[@jocosus3]

Private Equity = PE = #PureEvil

[@xpirate16]

"ever since Alamo was bought by a private equity firm..." JESUS FUCKING CHRIST WHY IS LITERALLY EVERYTHING LIKE THIS?!?!?!

[@DaniStone17]

Insatiable greed

[@Linkous12]

When I was growing up in the 90s if I was told this is what the future would be like I wouldn't have believed it.

[@angellover02171]

Really?

[@Wheelman2004]

As another 90's kid, I naively assumed that things would get better in the world as we progressed into the future. Nope. Things have only ever gotten worse.

[@shinnam]

In 1991, I was told, " We are moving to a service economy " by my business management professor. I was told this was coming maybe even realised it. But I didn't want to believe it, still don't.

[@American-Motors-Corporation]

Yes I was born in 85 I was 6 years old and 91 but I can remember it was perhaps 93 to 4 that there were teachers that were coming in their pants at the concept that we're moving to a service economy I know that definitely by 95-96 they were all in Major glee but that's where we are headed! That's why they thought it was so great and important that we learn computers problem was simply and I guess either I was a skeptic dick or I just had insight, but I myself had my doubts I literally did not buy everything they were selling us on talking about you know sunshine and everything was going to be great if we were all going to have this awesome future and I took a look around at the present time and went bullshit. Yeah I mean I was skeptical about the whole learning computers bullshit you know the whole thing about how we need to go to college if anything for computers. I'm the type of person if something is repeated over and over there definitely trying to make that narrative and or it becomes the narrative ly skeptical of it and the reason being is because it occurs to me that all they're doing is advertising on behalf of the colleges that the colleges are trying to make it sound as if you really truly need all this job I had enough intellect to understand that because computers etc are becoming comic place and nearly every job well that means they're becoming commonplace within the household there are some tasks that you will do that will also be very similar to work tasks so basically I understood that you really didn't need to go to an actual school to learn to use it simply because the technology is here it's more than I've been coming we're going to just know how to use it anyway and at some point they're going to devalue the college degrees based on than any damn fool off the street can do most of the tasks that they're wanting people to do and thus that's going to equal less pay because that market will always be flooded. Yeah I mean that was looking back perhaps one hell of a conspiracy series / insight for the 12 to 14 year old to harbor but I was also familiar with the early 90s pharmacist scandal. So basically what happened was it was in and around 92 colleges ran around to the media and screamed that there was a shortage of pharmacist of course the colleges paid a couple of pharmacists couple of bucks to get on the news and say that there really is some some shortage they cooked up a bunch of bullshit statistics and then next thing you know everybody wants to go and be a pharmacist. It was a way for them to drum up business by hopping up one perfection and by the time you get to 95 to 98 the colleges were openly admitting that they really did rip everybody off you can actually research that and they do admit that it was a scam. So I've always been leery of the supposed higher education bullshit one of the other statistics that they used to throw around in the 90s and I think even up into the early 2000s was the old bullshit adage that a college graduate makes "a million dollars more in their lifetime." Well I took a look at that and said well that's garbage because even if they did here's the problem with it basic math says or shall I say basic analytical Math says that million dollars over the course of a lifetime say working life of 47 to 60 years is going to be so spread out so deluded across that lifetime that it would be virtually undetectable especially because you have no idea today exactly what the inflation of the future will truly be until you get there and chances are at inflation would have more than one increase over the course of 47 to 60 years. Of course the catch 22 even at the time I had recognized was simply we do really have a root for where the inflation the future is going at the time we did not have it confirmed but it turns out you could have bet money on it and you would have won. And that was given to us I would say in 94 to 95 and it was a statistic a graph chart what not that basically displayed where the home prices are where they're expected to go and by the time we are somewhere in our 30s 40s they basically said that you're going to pay the better half of $500,000 for the average home I don't know how they reach these numbers I don't know who in the hell did the research but I must say they did a phenomenal job! I'm starting to wonder if that wasn't a piece of information they really weren't supposed to tell us because I can say that when I look back at some of the stuff they actually told us to educated us on even very very young it's like you know they would never tell a kid that today and I remember as we moved through the 90s through school the education they would give us watered down versions of everything and order they would tell you something 3 years ago and then now all the sudden they would change the narrative they were constantly rewriting not just history but a lot of other things. So even before I made high School I was pretty well skeptical all of this extra special emphasis on college and particularly computer technology by the time we would pivot around where we should be making what would be considered a good wage for somebody in their late twenties it's going to be devalued because it turns out most of the functions of a computer and or the tasks that you would complete with a computer would be so common knowledge that you're not going to make any more money than the guy over at Walmart. I mean you might be able to eat out a little more I mean every company is a little different and perhaps are a little different you know I've watched even entry level data entry jobs go from you know 17 bucks an hour there's a few of them out there that may still pay in the realm of 16 or 17 but those are also the ones that are customer service Representatives as in you have to be on the phone.

[@American-Motors-Corporation]

Well they did their best basically fill everybody full of shit I mean each individual educator I don't think was involved in some passive you know conspiracy theory to bullshit the children of today right?! I'm in the 90s was a different app for a lot of these folks you have to understand a lot of the folks we're insist a lot of these folks were older baby builders some of the teachers at the time I'm talking about working adults in general where not really our grandparents' age but they were maybe 10 to 15 years younger than the grandparents they were older so those guys were just wrapping up there but then you had a lot of the Boomers that were teaching and then you had the genome working world I mean the gen-xers the older ones at the time we're in the early twenties. So what you have is a lot of these people that saw and did whatever they did back in the 60s and 70s, a lot of those people were in some scary situations and some scary places a lot of those people got better jobs and super serious somewhere in the 70s perhaps the early 80s a lot of people in the world not just School teachers but regular run of the mill factory folks construction workers etc you know the '80s was kind of a dicey time but not as nice when the 90s hit you have to understand that a lot of their fears disappeared. You know the Soviet Union flaps so the nuclear threat was basically non-existent as far as most of the population was concerned so there was no need to live in fear about that, The economy wasn't really in bad shape to be honest it was doing pretty well a lot of people attributed to the policies of the 80s started to pay off I'm not here to agree or disagree with that but I will say that, that's what the common sentiment was the time. You had a situation to where the baby Boomers that didn't buy a house somewhere in '70s or eighties were buying houses now in the early 90s you had a situation to wear the Gen xers were getting a crack at home ownership plus everybody had a car there was a level of affordability things pretty stable while at the same time for the middle age to the younger folks back then it was like their turn to try and put their spin on the world they weren't really in full control in fact I will say that I think the younger baby Boomers those born in the early 60s through 64 I think they kind of got ripped off they didn't really older siblings ended up with. But the bottom line why you know car was literally on the r ise especially as you moved through the mid-90s these people had every reason to be optimistic so yeah it was bullshit do I think that there is of course The hidden Hand of government that was meant to amp everybody up especially to waste money going to colleges yeah I do think that there was at least a little something about that because I find it awful strange that ever since we were in the lower grades of elementary they kept talking about college it's like school was when big advertisement for college. I became super skeptical of all of this great hope and optimism by the time I was a teenager preteens I had doubts even though my family was part of those who were able to advance. It was interesting is itself the culture of the '90s I admit there wasn't perhaps much of one of its own it was a lot of carryover from the '80s with a lot of nostalgia for the 60s and '70s while at the same time there was huge amounts of nostalgia for the 80s I mean the decade of the 90s was like the future where we all sort of live in the past or past is all the sudden really cool to reflect on and so it came at the expense of having our own definitive decades identity. Of course this is very reflective of today today there is a huge amount of nostalgia for everything including what I use I mean honestly if you look at music for example though I am a huge fan of 50 60 70s 80s music and as a music dork and I know about music far older than that but I can say that notice how most music is really just fucking rehash of those decades? It's on repeat auto pilot.

[@tomh5094]

And hospitals, and media, and education, and water, and our food chains, and now their moving into housing. Can you guys do a bit more content on providing guidance for folks maybe? Being angry at everything but having no ways to do anything about it is getting super tiresome. I can barely even be mad anymore. A constant stream of things to be angry, sad or disheartened by eventually leads to feeling nothing. I'm fairly sure that's the idea at this point.

[@edunlap6594]

🎉 This. 🎉

[@TheDizzieC]

Go join a local leftist organization and work on the solution yourself. The whole point is to not be dictated to.

[@jims7773]

@TheDizzieC yes let me leave my job as I'm living paycheck to paycheck and join a group where I don't make any money. Everyone do that cmon! Stfu how about YOU do that before shilling out this terrible advice

[@tomh5094]

@@TheDizzieC I'm not in America. While the principles discussed here apply universally, communities in many countries are very small, spread out or in many parts non existent. "just do it" is an ignorant answer. People need guidance. Just like the right and the capitalists have guided us for generations. Socialism is obviously about not being dictated to, but there's no dictating being asked for here. Guidance, leadership, direction, resources, communities ...these are all things that are much less guided and focused than those of the right and capitalists. We need all the help we can get. Don't be such a grump.

[@TheDizzieC]

@@jims7773 I am literally and Industrial Workers of the World organizer, and the unofficial Union Steward of my union. I go to protests and help build secondary power structures. I was literally harassed out of my Job at the Littleton Aspen Grove Alamo Drafthouse where I was working as a bartender. So, guess what I AM doing it, while living paycheck to paycheck. I do all this while working that

[@MCC876]

I have seen so many stories of the dangerous and destructive behavior of private equity companies, but nothing is does about it. They continue to be dangerous and destructive.

[@RKZX2]

I'm so sick of these shit companies that know NOTHING about the business but merely invest for profit only. They dont give a shit about anything else.

[@SgtJoeSmith]

im tired of employees that dont know sht whining

[@American-Motors-Corporation]

Now what you're tired of is people who actually may know something but you deem that they know too much! You sound like a typical asshole!

[@TheDizzieC]

​@@SgtJoeSmithI'm tired of people stealing valor.

[@SgtJoeSmith]

@@TheDizzieC yeah? When did you serve?

[@J.G.Wentworth69420]

​@@SgtJoeSmithHe served for col. Sanders at kfc

[@colinhill7921]

I've been going to the Alamo Drafthouse for over 12 years. Heartbreaking to see this business I loved being gutted by PE.

[@Hedgehobbit]

The only reason that a Private Equity firm now owns Alamo Drafthouse is that the company went bankrupt in 2021. So, even if the PE firm didn't own it, the owners would still need to cut costs in order to survive.

[@qjtvaddict]

It they treated the employees better they would not unionize!!!! These companies are forgetting the policies of FAFO NOW THEY FINDING OUT

[@Hedgehobbit]

100% Bullshit. These companies Unionize because some of their employees want to cosplay as Heroes of the Proletariat.

[@antoniomromo]

Private equity is not in it for the long term. They are short to medium term. The only way to combat this is to unionize. It is only when they have no other options that conditions will improve. This is true of most corporate and private equity.

[@dustinDraig]

A private equity firm bought my employer about six months ago. Since then, we've been told that we have to tighten our belts and cut out all the perks to raise the earnings so the company will look good for the IPO. None of us have been offered stock options or other profit sharing, so basically we're told is that we need to make our jobs tougher and worse so a bunch of overpaid wealthy people will be able to cash out and get even richer. Not very inspiring

[@American-Motors-Corporation]

Well I would not be upset about them not offerings to talk options simply because for the most part I can guarantee the stock is completely worthless. Yeah that's right they've got it marked up to assert price on the stock market but that doesn't mean absolute jack shit because what you will be given is called common stock it's the same stock that they're selling to the public. So the problem with common stocks across the board is in order to collect a dividend ranging from 3 to $500 a month at this point you would have to over $80,000 worth so it's fucking useless! Stock options in most cases are basically used by employers so that they don't pay you x amount on the actually count that supposed perk or benefit or when they match it they count that as a perk and benefit they basically count it as part of your wage. This is why even the lonely gas station clerk gets a fucking stock option you know you want to buy stock in Kroger will match you every dog even though you're not making hardly above minimum wage so they pay you a shit wage and then talk about a 401k. problem with that is it serves to purposes number one it's there to pacify you but more importantly and I probably should have been number one it's yet another avenue for them to sell their stocks because they can also buy a certain portion of their shares when they go to match you and that's what they're giving you it's yet another reason for them to buy their own chairs wow at the same time take a horse you into purchasing their shares it's a fucking scam. 401ks are very vulnerable and frankly dangerous, they're only designed to make money when the market goes up there is no alternative runoff to hedge anything you're in it literally bareback there is no protection. If you actually make decent money and what I mean by that is you're able to pay the rent and your food costs your general cost of living and you still have say 500 to a thousand dollars to play with each one then you might consider an alternative portfolio which would be something like a cross of course I'm not giving anybody investment advice that's really a friendly suggestion. For the most part for main Street America to be involved in the stock market is fucking stupid I mean unless you're making somewhere I mean if you're single and you're making 40 Grand here okay I can see that you might take a little bit of money and play around if you're making 35 to 40,000 a year and you have a family no I think it's literally stupid if you're making 45 to 50 Grand a year and you have a family but you're very careful with money as if you don't fuck with credit cards and you don't have much of a car payment if any at all then yeah I can see where you might go ahead put a little money into something. But to be honest given that I was a former business owner actually two businesses the way I would go about that is if I had the extra money I would Bank it set on it save it just keep stacking money and then I would go shopping around for a little business that if I wanted to actually open the store front that's what I would do of course I would scrutinize the business I mean I would be demanding to see itemized profit loss statements you know to figure out what they've done in terms of the volume of business and of course what the costs versus profits are somewhere in the past two three years. I'm the type of person that if I can't find this that I would be comfortable investing in then I would just assume to start on the other hand I understand that's not everyone's cup of tea because not everyone would have this capabilities so when in doubt, I mean you know look around your area see what rental property she can find that are for sale see what houses are for sale that aren't rentals I mean you don't have to just go look for an already established rental you can make your own I mean you know if you can come up with $3,000 there's your down payment go get a loan Tell the bank exactly what you want to do chances are you'll get financing and don't gouge the renter but you can set the rent to where basically the property pays for itself in terms of mortgage and insurance and you may still be able to make a little profit if anything don't buy a single family home go get a small apartment building with four or five units. I mean investment is good it's just the returns that most people are expecting off of particularly a stocks based invest it's never going to be there everybody keeps hearing about these record numbers that the stock markets are up to well first off that's built on a house cards secondly if that ever were to take a shit which is most likely to do so at some point and it's going to wipe everybody out you're going to be screwed but lastly the most subtle of the problems is simply you also have to wait so many years before you can truly start pulling money out of your portfolio via a 401k yes if you build up a certain amount and over a certain amount of time or varying employers have varying times on when you can borrow against it the problem is why do you want to borrow from yourself if it's yours you should be able to take that money you shouldn't have to borrow that's just another bill you have to pay. If you're going to borrow for something you should do it in terms of an investment problem so if you make enough money throw as much at that loan as you possibly can to pay it off as quickly as possible so if you make a significant amount of money stack as much as you can if you can build up 20/25,000 in a year's time slap that down on it. Here's an idea go by some acreage in the middle of nowhere and contact cell phone companies still come and put up a tower and pay you thousands of dollars a month and you won't have to do a fucking thing to it!

[@the.masked.one.studio4899]

I used to go to the draft house in Austin back in 2008. The horror movie nights and the espresso ice cream were amazing. This place was fantastic, so sad to hear this.

[@matthewsanchez7953]

"Parasites play acting as Mom n' Pop shops."

[@CoastToGhost]

Seriously, fuck Alamo drafthouse I’m so exhausted all my friends still treat it like some local darling when it’s been a hell pit for over a decade at this point.

[@yellowblanka6058]

Because most people fortunate enough to not have to work/have never worked a minimum wage job don't know how the "sausage" is made, and don't care. Which is how the corporate owners like it.

[@dsmoke1972]

If you don't want your employees to unionize, treat them better in the first place.

[@flcon16]

Living in Chicago, the only way I would possibly go to the Alamo over the Music Box would be if it was a union shop.

[@sketchbookofhorror8747]

The Arby's store I work for in Knoxville, TN was sold to corporate in 2015, with a bit of research I found out that Roark Capital Group acquired the brand back in 2011. During the pandemic we went from being a $1 million dollar store to a $2 million store. I was given the impression if I worked hard and went above and beyond I would get a decent raise only to realize from my sister who is my manager that the new system is basically designed to only give 10 cent raises, you could potentially get a 25 cent raise if you received 4 stars but no one receives 4 stars because it considered "favoritism", so I'm stuck with only getting 10 cent raises. So in a sense I realized that low wage workers are basically considered gig workers and not employee unless they moved up into management.

[@SgtJoeSmith]

you should go open your own restaurant and do something about this

[@sketchbookofhorror8747]

@@SgtJoeSmith How did that work out for you? Isn't your channel the embodiment of this very example? So, I just need to complain about something, make a video, and hope it solves problems, right? Putting that aside, I think you meant "investment management company", kind of what the whole video is about, or did you not watch the video?

[@SgtJoeSmith]

@sketchbookofhorror8747 turns out employees just like to complain and don't want to help change anything cause they greedy. I got tired of those corporations. I was once you. I spent my life savings and worked for free to change it. Employees just treated me like shit and robbed me and plotted to murder me so I don't compete with their slave masters

[@brookeohara3926]

Homie, are you just bored? You're posting negative and unhelpful comments on sooooo many things. ​@@SgtJoeSmith

[@TheDizzieC]

​@@brookeohara3926and stealing valor!

[@Nowhere-Near]

I worked at Alamo during Barbie/Oppenheimer premier and had a similar experience. Great to see employees finally calling corporate out!!!

[@iheartlreoy8134]

Private equity: nice business you got there can we have some money for nothing?

[@gabdewulf]

This explains why they have gone worse.

[@Undecided0]

I used to work at the Yonkers location in the kitchen. They didn’t even have AC in the summer & expected us to work 16 hour shifts back to back. When The Force Awakens came out. That was the last straw for me. They made us work Thanksgiving to New Year’s with only one day off a week. Somehow all managers were off on the holidays. By that time the kitchen manager quit, because he was feed up with management. I started doing Postmates & DoorDash until I found another job, because I was tired of the BS.

[@steve94183]

Streaming and early digital releases are also contributing to the death of the theater. Constant mistreatment of vfx workers and writers is also contributing to the lower quality of the films themselves.

[@shadowsonicsilver6]

Okay, and Private Equity is ending streaming too

[@steve94183]

@@shadowsonicsilver6 Absolutely. The things I mentioned will continue to get even worse under Private Equity. Look what's happening at Warner Bros Discovery for example.

[@gabrielsatter]

I don't think good writers are being mistreated so much as not being hired.

[@HydratedBeans]

Streaming is not killing movie theaters, shitty movies are. Barbenheimer, top gun, dune, etc all did very well.

[@yellowblanka6058]

It's almost as if poorly regulated Capitalism is all about a bunch of sociopaths squeezing every person beneath them for as much work/profit as they can while living in opulence until society collapses.

[@usukapal]

Idea for a video: Why rochester general hospital system isn't using debt collection and still succeeds

[@TheLastLineLive]

Imagine that, another private equity firm leveraged buyout success story.

[@JTSunriseMusic]

Corporations ruined the U$A

[@BEACHCHICK-iy5jp]

Alamo was just sold to SONY this past week for $200 million. All anyone has to do is look at what happened to Red Lobster (whether you like them or not). The Red Lobster situation is a very clear and precise story of what happens when a Private Equity company buys a company. When Red Lobster was bought by the Private Equity company they OWNED the buildings and the land each location was in/on. The P/E sold the buildings to themselves using an umbrella LLC then proceeded to charge each location rent to the tune of $200 million dollars a year paid by the locations to the the P/E. So basically the P/E owned the buildings and the lands, sold it ,collected the sale proceeds and then charged rent then did not update the locations, or up the salary’s ,benefits, then bankrupted Red Lobster and closed the locations. It’s called sucking the cash out of a company. People should look at the sale of BMI which was a non-profit forever, then in November of 2022 they changed to a for profit and then sold a year later for $1.7 BILLION to a P/E company. If the company had of sold as a non-profit the songwriters/ publishers would have received the sale proceeds.Since it was a for profit when it was sold , SOME songwriters and publishers were only given part of $100 million dollar in sale proceeds under strict qualifications some of which kept many from receiving anything. The $1.6 billion it seems was given to the board/owners who approved the change to for profit. Everyone should check out P/E’s in regard to hospital systems, doctor’s offices and senior living/nursing homes in particular. P/E’s are buying the senior living /homes/ centers up then refusing to take Medicare (because if they did they would be under the thumb of the Federal Government) and kicking old people out who have no other way to pay. Quality of care is down, in some cases the workers will not lift a patient if they fall so they are calling the fire department and putting a financial strain on municipalities otherwise known as TAX PAYERS.

[@mstmompj]

And now locations in five Texas cities are closing. (To be clear, I blame private equity for this, not unionization efforts.)

[@Raja-bz4yw]

They destroyed the malls too

[@SgtJoeSmith]

you you started buying online is what destroyed the malls

[@Raja-bz4yw]

@@SgtJoeSmith that's a part of it yes. But the private equity firms brought many Malls n destroyed them.

[@phaedrussmith1949]

The people should own the means of production.

[@BOZ_11]

yes, more specifically, co-operatives.

[@me-myself-i787]

You have the means to produce movies. - A camera - A microphone - Kdenlive or Shotcut - Audacity - A computer Or, alternatively: - A computer - Tahoma2D, OpenToonz or Blender - Audacity - A microphone

[@Pandash1]

I think I understand what you are saying but there needs to be a balance. In your ideal world if these servers took control of the theater, naturally more of the profits will go to these servers. But people, regardless whether they are servers or people who work at Private Equity are greedy. It will be difficult for servers (or the like) to keep up with necessarily maintenance and improvements to the theater, partly because they want to take much profits for themselves. An example of this is HOA. People hate HOA, even when that is the most realistic version of how people owning the production works in practice. People hate giving up their paycheck to make necessary improvements (even their own street they live on) and invest in something that is yet broken, so they fail to raise enough money when the time comes or the maintenance gets delayed and delayed. I’m not arguing for PE either. They take way too much profit just sitting idly on their computers looking at spreadsheets. There needs to be a balance of profit sharing between the owners and the workers.

[@phaedrussmith1949]

@@Pandash1 "But people, regardless whether they are servers or people who work at Private Equity are greedy." No they're not. Greedy people are greedy. Those who are not greedy should not be lumped in with those who are for convenience of rhetoric.

[@TheDizzieC]

@@Pandash1 First. Stop acting like greed is human nature. It's not.

[@shambrown]

Perhaps your new masters at Sony Pictures will return Alamo to its Halcyon days

[@a_life_painted_with_color]

Why did the original owners take Alamo public? Seams like this is always the outcome after going public, especially if the business owns alot of physical assets like real estate that can be stripped, cannibalized and sold off for sweet sweet profit.

[@masondavidson5657]

Alamo went bankrupt during lockdown and it was either sell or die

[@budrobrother]

Holy shit! I remember going to Alamo as a kid in Austin. I had no idea they had locations outside of Austin and worst that they got bought out!!!

[@Thomastheattackengine]

Weird comment

[@WastedPo]

@@Thomastheattackengine - why is it a "weird comment." Are you able to expand on that?

[@piku5637]

Cooperatives should be normalized across North America, and the entire🌎.🏳️‍⚧️☭🏳️‍🌈Ⓐ🇵🇸

[@arfinjalal4563]

What are you a fascist

[@SgtJoeSmith]

they exist but you keep calling them a scam when they post jobs on facebook

[@SlickSimulacrum]

@@SgtJoeSmith , ROTFL... Dead!!!

[@erikkennedy8725]

Private Equity is killing pretty much everything.

[@djgrumpygeezer1194]

How about a “Beekeeper” sequel where he goes after private equity parasites.

[@sominboy2757]

update: Alamo Drafthouse has been bought by sony pictures

[@pequodexpress]

Private equity is killing you!

[@phineasfaber5159]

Private Equity minimizing wages and maximizing costs. We're your boss and your landlord!

[@Perfidion]

It's their business model. They're not interested in holding on to it for any length of time. They're there to asset strip it then on-sell it. They could care less if Alamo Drafthouse goes down in flames, so long as they make a profit from its demise.

[@Entroper]

I've definitely noticed the cost cutting as a long time customer. Seats need maintenance, covers are ripped, armrests are falling off. A lot of things have been removed from the menu, and you can't customize anymore. I want a cheesesteak without pepperoncinis, but I can only get it plain, or with everything now?

[@Shalom12Judah]

I worked at the one in Richardson Texas and I almost died me and my unborn child. This was 2015. They never paid overtime I had no set time to clock out they would force you to stay and work unknown hours often more than 10 with no overtime pay!!! I was pregnant working in the boh in front of a big oven. I missed so many doctors appointments due to work because they would threaten to fire me! That place was PURE HELL!! The absolute worst job I ever had!

[@johnchedsey1306]

Having worked in understaffed restaurants years go, I eventually learned to assert myself by refusing to pick up shifts I didn't want. I reminded them that if they fired me over it, that was another 35 hours of shifts a week they've have to find bodies for. A union means they can't staff their business if everyone stands up against bad management.

[@loganbush4015]

I watch all of these videos. You have to point out the are union leaders often are scared of retaliation and side with the corporation. Jobs will give these people the easy tasks and many other perks. Union representative should not be paid by the company they are there to protect us from

[@andreabobwrangler5146]

please understand that most of what was said in this video was either blatant lies, or biggggg stretches of facts. #fakenews i cant speak to the content in the other videos produced by this sham group. but I know this info is false

[@eschiedler]

I spent many evenings at the original Alamo Drafthouse (now long gone) in Austin, TX on Colorado Street. Sad to see it go like this but it's predictable if you sell out to corporate financiers to expand.

[@AdmiralBison]

Private equity nothing. This is just a symptom and logical conclusion of Capitalism.

[@LH-uk8zs]

I grew up going to the Alamo on Colorado and most often the one on Anderson. This is so sad. Yet another one of the beloved places that made Austin a wonderful place to grow up, a city that is now unrecognizable to me. Private Equity/Vulture Capitalism ruining everything that is good.

[@BrowningFirearms]

Welp now they're out of a job. Pretty ironic timing to drop this video.

[@yoshismokey42]

Notice how this was just the workers telling their story the entire time. No one else. It's really cool that More Perfect Union uses their platform to amplify the voices of everyday workers.

[@Hedgehobbit]

Wait, how is it cool that no one is allowed to present a different side of the story? That seems the exact opposite of fair.

[@blackula911]

Don’t you dare question the narrative

[@yoshismokey42]

@@Hedgehobbit Won't someone please look out for the rich private equity guys? No one stands up for the rich! No one ever tells their side of the story :'(

[@Hedgehobbit]

@@yoshismokey42 The truth is the truth whether it supports your narrative or not.

[@misterniceguy429]

Coming from someone who is a dishwasher at a Draft House, I can understand how horrible it is working there. It’s not easy having to wash stacks upon stacks upon stack of dishes when big named titles like the Mario Movie, the Barbie Movie, Inside Out 2, and Deadpool and Wolverine, and they think that one person had handle it all day without any help or even a break. Through out this year I have had at least five mental breakdowns during the summer, and I’m pretty sure I’m about to have another one once that new Venom movie comes out this October. I wanna quit the job, I just don’t know what I wanna work at for the rest of my life.

[@MsVictory1945]

I would expand that to say private equity is killing EVERYTHING and if these greedy bastards aren't controlled in some way we are in big, big trouble!

[@brendanthedreamer]

They'll never be controlled, because guess who controls Congress?

[@michaelstever7280]

Congratulations to these guys! You who bring workers together are the true heart of the left.

[@GotKimchi]

Unfortunately, even without private equity, movie theater chains just aren't making money. Economics of them aren't well. The workers in video explaining billions of profits aren't understanding that most that money went away from the theaters and to the studios instead

[@doomsdayrabbit4398]

Who owns the studios?

[@masondavidson5657]

Alamo is a little different in that regard, the company is expanding and consistently making money through industry slump periods. 2023 was one of the company’s most profitable years ever. Being a bar and restaurant as well as regularly showing older movies alongside new releases has kept the company healthy and profitable in situations where other theaters are failing

[@andreabobwrangler5146]

@@masondavidson5657 no, alamo is not different. the numbers in the video stated are box office sales. national box office sales. not individual venue F&B sales. why is it important to point out that they are box office sales? depending the studio, more than 60% of box office sales can be required to be sent to studios. this video is full of fake news.

[@christophercrowder872]

The fact that we all refer to it as "winning (their/our) union" is sad. You shouldn't have to "win" being neogtiated with seriously and being treated like a human being.

[@BeachCity]

We have 75-100" 8K smart TV's in our home. Who goes to a movie theatre and pays $100 for a family to see a $3 rental?

[@TheDizzieC]

You see, buying the 75-100" 8k Smart TV is thousands of dollars that needs to be paid up front (or on a credit card to haunt you for years). And some family's can only spare $100 every few months so they want to make the most of it.

[@BeachCity]

@@TheDizzieC Nah, I can pause a movie get munchies and not pay a lot. $1,000 for a giant smart home TV is a decent investment.

[@TheDizzieC]

@@BeachCity I didn't say "$1000" but I did say thousandS. Do you know what it means when someone adds an "s" to the end of the word? 75" 8k tvs START at around 3500, which for most Americans is approximately two-three months worth of a paycheck. Did you just not think this through or do you hate people with Average incomes and lower?

[@RudieObias]

How much was that big 8K TV? 😅

[@BeachCity]

@@RudieObias About $1,000. Why?

[@Tacom4ster]

"You Fired" "Eh your too late, you got a union."

[@maxswagcaster5315]

I love everything getting worse and worse to pay for boomers retirement funds

[@b1646717]

Is there anything that private equity isn't actively destroying?

[@farmeryaeg]

Great video on the failure of personal accountability.

[@fmcg5364]

It is good to see people taking their own destiny into their own hands and winning. Thanks for all your hard work

[@rustyshackleford4801]

Private hands should be illegal

[@SgtJoeSmith]

give me all your video games

[@TheDizzieC]

​@@SgtJoeSmithGo learn the difference between Private Property and Personal Property.

[@SgtJoeSmith]

@@TheDizzieC people make money streaming video games so video games are private property and thus should be freely shared. now give me all your video games you labored for so i can have my turn to stream and make money off them.

[@SgtJoeSmith]

@@TheDizzieC oh and your car too. so i can be an uber driver too.

[@israeldelosreyes808]

Private equity killed red lobster

[@arguescreamholler]

It kills all because they want increased profits for what's limited within an area, at the same time not paying enough for their employees to enjoy whatever they're providing. Not only are they pricing themselves out, they're reducing their own customer base. WHEN THEY STOP BUYING.

[@Win0bot]

this really bums me out. Alamo was always my favorite theater chain and it especially bums me out cause Sloan's Lake is literally the Alamo I go to. Im glad they're unionizing though. We desperately need to start passing laws to regulate or downright ban private equity in this country.

[@TheDizzieC]

What up my fellow Denverite?

[@JuliannaParadis]

Same thing at my former employer. Years upon years of boasting about record sales and meanwhile their staff was qualifying for affordable housing. These were tech jobs.

[@mind_of_a_darkhorse]

This is why unions are necessary! Greedy companies who fail their employees!

[@benjousan8470]

All 5 Alamo locations in North Texas closed this morning.

[@AnonymousMusing]

Yes! Union strong! 💪

[@minimalistic_banhaus]

It should be mentioned movie theatres have to make lots of profit during the summer to make up for when there aren't any hits coming out. Movie theatres are generally not profitable.

[@TheXabl0]

No wonder I see a lot of theaters in my area appear with similar business model

[@philrabe910]

Toys R Us... And more recently Red Lobster- which the PE firm that ruined that venerable company (or at least time tested), well, the PE managers who promised to keep the company the same did all sorts of shenanigans like selling off the land under each restaurant- making the locations pay rent for their own land... There is a whole MPU episode in that story.

[@thechris104]

And now all DFW Alamo Drafthouses have closed. Pfffff

[@randyscott3386]

After the talent that cares leaves . Their forced to hire whatever help shows up . Go open your own and let Alamo learn the hard way what happens when all the talent walks out the door . With the talent you have you could start in a parking garage or a backyard . Does Alamo even have any compitition ? Imagine a drifting dinner movie theater where there's always a different location or bring your own chair and table .

[@bplus2932]

i can hear the boomers now, "suck it up!"

[@kidcoyoteanarchy]

The irony is boomers are elderly and most part retired. And private equity is gobbling up nursing homes and healthcare facilities and complain they can't afford it.

[@SpencerLuxBurton]

Soon they'll be bitching that nobody wants to work at the theater in the exact same breath that they gleefully order a 50$ 20oz bag of popcorn.

[@Hedgehobbit]

The movie theater industry is down 30% this year compared to 2023 and 2023 was a disastrous year for the movie business. So, yeah, demanding more pay in a business that is rapidly evaporating is not a great strategy. BTW all the Alamo Drafthouses in Dallas (5 in total) shut down today.

[@felixgijon8621]

Damn! This is good to know. My girlfriend and I have the monthly subscription. We were also cool with the automatic 18% gratuity fee because of “fair wages”.

[@Private-GtngxNMBKvYzXyPq]

Solidarity.

[@houstongigs]

Too bad there isn't any nearby here anymore... all the other dine in movie theaters got bought out also. I do wish things got better, but from other industries, it seems difficult to do.

[@ieshadover]

I use to love dine in but yeah you can tell it all going downhill. Understaffed means over worked, injured workers means poor survice. Plus food quality plumited, seating got ratty and just over all made for an over priced poor experience. When i go to theater now, it a non- dine in theater. But if they can swing it around i would go back.

[@user-lp3fh7yb2x]

And now Alamo Draft House has closed all of the North Texas locations

[@JihouGijutsu]

People should be afraid of what the government does if it decides it doesn’t want unions anymore again. We as a country need to be able to do what France does when their labor rights are threatened and what the people who pioneered unions had to do.

[@ArashiKageTaro]

Congrats y’all!!! Well deserved and long overdue. Glad to see more industries organizing and unionizing. Fck the corporate overlords and capitalists! This video made me so happy to see! Workers, UNITE! Also, I have to say it, but that one guy’s Alamo trans shirt is 🔥! Happy Pride month!!! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

[@publicguy1664]

It's long passed time for socialism. If these guys want to save their chain, they need to get low-interest loans and convert it into an employee co-op.

[@JD-cd5sq]

Private Equity is a form of financial 'Cancer.'

[@Will_Moffett]

If you read some economists, and not even ones considered radical, they are saying the dominance of private equity is going to bring far worse consequences than what you see here. If you think they can't own the air we breathe you aren't following the pattern very closely.

[@MichaelDruck]

Alamo didn't file for bankruptcy just because of covid. They were in huge mounting debt due to their reckless spending way before covid hit. That was the perfect excuse for them to clear their dept. But, I'm sure they racked it back up.

[@watamatafoyu]

Everyone seeing the pattern? The more private equity firms own things, the worse it gets for everyone else.

[@introvertsrock9843]

Theaters in other states have discount days & they offer other discounts Please go to the theater to show the owners they need to hire more ppl

[@aick]

I worked for the Seven Gables/Landmark Cinema chain up in Seattle back in the 1990s. I couldn't afford to live in Seattle on those wages hence I've lived in New Mexico for 30 years. Back then when I went out to picket the new theater in town that wasn't using Projectionist Union members I was one of the only non-projectionists there. My generation didn't give a crap about unions, here's hoping y'all realize you need more than that early.

[@Grumdy]

It's pretty hilarious to watch this on the day all the Alamo Drafthouses near me in the DFW metroplex closed and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. I guess the Professional Popcorn Waiters' Union might have been a little off regarding how well their business was doing.

[@andreabobwrangler5146]

i'm pretty sure that UAW is who tricked them.

[@westvirginiaglutenfreepepp7006]

I love more perfect union but i always question why they choose the people they choose for these talking head segments.

[@millax-ev6yz]

Good for them! Incredibly brave