In October, staff at four local music venues — the 9:30 Club, The Anthem, The Atlantis, and Lincoln Theatre — petitioned production company I.M.P. to unionize amidst growing concerns around wages and safe working conditions.

The company has agreed to recognize production, food service, box office and door staff workers’ union, represented by Unite Here Local 25, and is expected to reach a similar agreement soon with stagehands, lighting designers and sound engineers, who petitioned to join IATSE Locals 22 and 868. The potential demands and negotiations of these unions could have substantial effects for consumers who attend shows at these venues, which have both rich history (Lincoln Theatre, the 9:30 Club), and recent popularity (The Anthem, The Atlantis).

Traditionally, unions function as a way for workers to organize in order to gain leverage with an employer. Christopher McTamany, who teaches AP Economics at this school, said that “[Workers] unionize so that they can collectively bargain to get something that they feel they’re… unfairly not getting from the business they work for,” whether that is “better working conditions, better pay, less hours, a better healthcare plan” or any combination of these kinds of factors.

Indeed, one familiar example of this is the MCPS teachers’ union. One of the biggest issues that the teachers’ union bargains for is a healthcare package with less increases in costs, an area particularly relevant as healthcare costs across the country shoot up as a result of recent federal legislation, McTamany said.

Additionally, ASL teacher Lea Clark said that the teachers’ union functions as a “support system” for teachers, providing “legal representation” when necessary, or even just sending a union representative to assist teachers in meetings with administrators. The union “[fights] for [teachers’] salaries to be… competitive,” as well as to secure teachers certain contractual entitlements, such as a guaranteed free lunch period and clear working hours, Clark said.

With regard to I.M.P., employees at the 9:30 Club, The Anthem, The Atlantis and Lincoln Theatre have cited stagnant wages, along with inconsistent scheduling, reduced employee privileges and unsafe working conditions as reasons for their unionization, concerns that will undoubtedly be addressed as Unite Local 25 and the workers, as well as likely IATSE Locals 22 and 868, begin negotiations with I.M.P.

Of course, there are potentially negative consequences of this unionization for both the business (I.M.P.) and the consumers. “If you have higher costs [as a business], you have lower profits… and people are the most expensive part of almost any business,” McTamany said. If unionized workers were to bargain for increased wages, better healthcare packages, or similar financial benefits, the venues and production company “are often going to pass that through to the consumer in the form of higher prices,” and potentially lower output or production, in this case fewer shows and events.

However, these consequences may not materialize, depending on the demands of the union, and also do not necessarily deter consumer support of their unionization. Senior Sophie Toothaker, who has attended shows recently at both The Anthem and the 9:30 Club, said I.M.P. staff at these venues were competent and polite in her experience, and reacted quickly to emergencies, such as concertgoers passing out in the pit. Toothaker said that as a consumer, the risk of price increases does not negatively affect her support for their unionization, and that in such situations, she “[wants] the people working to be responsible and fast, regardless of whether [her] ticket price is a little higher or not.”

Negotiations between the unions and I.M.P. are expected to begin later this month.