By Lauren Antonoff, Denverite | UPDATE: The workers voted to Unionize | Many employees at Live Nation’s small, local music venues have had it. They’re tired of clubs that pay the lowest rates of any of the small venues in Denver. They’re tired of staffing requests that ask them to come in and send them home after only a few hours of work – or fail to tell them that shows have been canceled until minutes before their shift.
As a result, a majority of stage crew and production workers employed at Summit Music Hall and the Marquis Theater have filed with the National Labor Relations Board to form a union with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 7.
“Rock music venues such as Summit and Marquis are traditionally non-union establishments, and the work in rock music is often much more precarious and transient,” said IATSE organizer Hilliard Probasco. “Labor conditions for production workers in the rock and roll industry are insecure, benefits are virtually nonexistent, and wages are low in comparison to union jobs within the entertainment industry.”
If these workers vote to organize, all Live-Nation-owned venues in Denver will have union stage crews.
Summit Music Hall and the Marquis are two of three local Live Nation venues. Live Nation’s largest Denver venue, the Fillmore Auditorium, unionized in 2003, according to Max Peterson, business representative for the local IATSE union.
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Read the full article here, along with an updated article:
https://denverite.com/2024/06/12/denver-small-live-nation-concert-venues-workers-move-to-unionize/
[Thanks to Alex Teitz for contributing this article! http://www.femmusic.com]
Photo: Summit Music Hall (from their Facebook page)
June 27, 2024| Colorado Music-Related Business| Barb Dye