Special ‘ticket’ masks support out-of-work Showbox staff Matthew Smith
When the coronavirus arrived in Washington state, the shutdowns seemed swift to those affected by them.
At the Showbox in Seattle, workers thought the shutdown could last a few weeks. Almost a year later, they’re wondering whether they’ll be returning to work at all this year.
“It’s really scary,” said Liesel, an employee who has spent nearly a decade working at the Showbox. “It’s so strange not knowing when (we may go back). It might be a year!”
There’s dozens of employees who are out of work. As Shannon Welles, the theater’s assistant general manager notes, it’s not like those jobs can be filled elsewhere – the entire industry has been shut down. That’s why they’re working to raise funds to buy food for workers who’ve been unable to find work for months.