A unit of 60 stagehands at the McMenamins Edgefield in Troutdale and the Grand Lodge in Forest Grove will vote this month on whether to join the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 28.
“Workers are asking for representation so they can have predictability about whether and how much they will be working during each season, and [to] afford to live in our region,” said Rose Etta Venetucci, the business representative for IATSE Local 28.
The stagehands are employees of concert promoter Monqui Presents. Since starting in 1983, Monqui Presents has been a major force in the Pacific Northwest music industry, running the outdoor concert series at Edgefield and shows at medium-sized venues like the Roseland Theater and Wonder Ballroom. Up to now their productions have been operating entirely non-union. Now with a mail ballot election, which will conclude on October 30, workers controlling the sound, lighting, and stages at the two McMenamins locations will have a chance to change that.
The employees ‘controlling’ the lights and sound at Edgefield and Grand Lodge are not Monqui employees. The employees involved with installing lights and sound are Monqui employees. It’s important to note the difference.