Vancouver, Wash. – Riggers and stagehands working at the Sunlight Supply Amphitheater and at most other venues in the Pacific Northwest have serious safety concerns, and receive no health care insurance, for what are often dangerous jobs.

The Sunlight Supply Amphitheater engages Rhino Staging Northwest for performances. Members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) and supporters plan to protest these poor conditions Monday, August 5, outside the Clark County Fairgrounds throughout the day. The Sunlight Supply Amphitheater is located adjacent to the Fairgrounds, and many of the fair’s musical performances are held at the concert venue.

Live Nation, the world’s largest concert promoter and the leading promoter of music and live events in the Pacific Northwest, including some events at the Sunlight Supply Amphitheater, has also engaged Rhino Staging to provide rigging and other backstage services at some other area venues.

Rhino riggers in the Pacific Northwest voted to organize a union in 2015 to remedy unfair and substandard working conditions. But, the company fought the union election in U.S. Federal courts and lost and now refuses to negotiate a fair contract, despite an order to bargain from the U.S. National Labor Relations Board.

IATSE placed full-page advertisements in Washington newspapers on Sunday to focus public attention on Live Nation and Rhino’s practices, as well as the policies of venues the two companies partner with, such as the Sunlight Supply Amphitheater, which are either publicly owned or built with public funds. The advertisement can be seen here.

In addition to engaging members of the community at the Clark County Fair, backstage workers will be holding banners outside the Angels of The Winds Amphitheater in Everett, Washington prior to a Toby Keith concert Monday evening.

For more information on how backstage workers in the Pacific Northwest are pushing back against unfair treatment see these articles in The Seattle Weekly and The Guardian.

Additional information can be found at: http://standwithrhinoworkers.com.

The New Hampshire Labor News is a group of NH Workers who believe that we need to protect ourselves against the attacks on workers. We are proud union members who are working to preserve the middle class. The NHLN talks mostly about news and politics from NH. We also talk about national issues that effect working men and women here in the Granite State.

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