Workers across departments at I.M.P venues the 9:30 Club, The Atlantis, Lincoln Theater, and The Anthem, are organizing.

A majority of workers are calling on I.M.P. to agree to a fair process to unionize without management interference. They know that this is possible. In 2023, the iconic First Avenue club in Minneapolis did not interfere with their employees’ decision on whether to unionize and just this year workers at that club and First Avenue’s affiliated clubs ratified their first union contract which included raises as well as improved training and safety policies.

At the 9:30 Club, the Atlantis, and Lincoln Theatre in Washington, D.C., food and beverage workers along with door and floor staff are organizing with support from UNITE HERE Local 25. Production and box office workers at the U Street corridor venues, plus the Anthem, are organizing with support from IATSE Local 22 and IATSE Local 868.

I.M.P. venues are world-class venues, but some workers are scheduled inconsistently, juggle multiple jobs, and earn wages as low as $18.25 per hour, which is just 30 cents above D.C.’s minimum wage. The work can be sometimes dangerous or stressful, with workers lifting heavy materials, supporting patrons who have serious emergencies, and catching crowd surfers. For production workers, especially the riggers who work high above the stage, the work carries other risks from high voltage, items falling, and the uncertainties that come from always dealing with concert tours bringing with them different equipment in varying states of repair.

D.C.-based production company I.M.P. operates five local venues and puts on shows for as many as 50,000 people at a time. In 2023, I.M.P. ranked 44 among the Top 100 Promoters globally, selling more than 436K in tickets and grossing $22.7 million in income.