Local theater union members and workers say they will continue to protest outside of the Music Center at Strathmore in Bethesda this weekend, opposing the layoffs of 19 ticket sellers earlier this summer.

The Bethesda Beat reported on the first day of protests on Thursday.

The demonstrations follow a National Labor Relations Board complaint filed against the performing arts hub earlier this month by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). The union claims that the theater — home to both the National Philharmonic and the D.C. base of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra —violated a tentative staffing agreement when it laid off all part-time box office ticket sellers and all but one full-time seller in July.

https://twitter.com/IATSE/status/1317161138623217666

According to a press release from IATSE, union members and workers will be continuing protests through Saturday and Sunday evenings to bring awareness to their cause. The union says the music center opted not to re-hire the ticket sellers for an upcoming outdoor exhibition, “Monuments: Creative Forces.” Instead, IATSE says the venue is hiring “workers without experience in the ticket office,” to operate the box offices for the “Monuments” show and future performances.

“We would prefer to engage the public in the box office or by working the phones,” says IATSE Business Agent Anne Vantine in a statement. “But we will take to the streets to explain to the community what is happening and right this wrong.”

Strathmore CEO Monica Jeffries Hazangeles told DCist/WAMU in early October that the decision to lay-off 19 ticket sellers came out of necessity, with pandemic shutdowns prompting “drastic” declines in revenue and providing no clear timeline for a resurgence in the performing arts industry. According to the Bethesda Beat, the venue lost more than 35% of its revenue by late July.

“Whether through layoff, furlough, or reduced compensation, every single member of our team has been impacted in some way. We care about all of our colleagues, and we know that these are challenging times for everyone. Throughout the pandemic, we have continued to meet with our Ticket Office colleagues to negotiate and we remain committed to working with our team members from I.A.T.S.E. Local 868 to come to an agreement soon,” Hazangeles’ statement from Oct. 1 reads.

Strathmore did not immediately return DCist’s request for comment on the recent protests.

Vantine says that the 19 laid-off employees are key to the survival of the theater, and would allow the music center to attract sales that could help pull it out of a pit of economic devastation. The union also noted that the venue boasts a large sum in surplus money from 2019, when it broke records in ticket sales with $5 million in revenue.

Strathmore is among the many local arts and music venues that’s been hard hit by the pandemic as coronavirus restrictions leave the fate of live shows up in the air. The Kennedy Center announced furloughs for members of the National Symphony Orchestra earlier this summer, and two U Street mainstays — U Street Music Hall and Twin Jazz — permanently shuttered their doors in recent months.