IATSE Approves First Membership Census Amid Calls to Boost Diversity
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) completed its 69th quadrennial convention on Tuesday, approving a series of resolutions that re-elected guild president Matthew D. Loeb called “the most progressive set of constitutional changes and resolutions in our union’s history.”
Among the resolutions approved is the establishment of an annual membership census to determine IATSE’s demographics and to improve diversity and equity within the guild’s membership and leadership. The guild will develop plans to coordinate with locals on the census and to reach out to members with the goal of holding the census next spring.
The IATSE delegates also voted to “explore anti-bias and anti-racist trainings, as well as recommending the IATSE General Executive Board, Officers, and Delegates attend trans inclusivity training.” Additionally, the guild will review its health plans to ensure that gender-affirming medical treatment will be covered for trans members.
In terms of policy, IATSE will continue to push for federal labor legislation, including the PRO Act, which would expand the right to organize to more types of workers and strengthen labor protections against union-busting efforts and violations of worker rights. IATSE also approved a resolution to work with organizations that assist with voter registration, as restrictive voting laws have been passed in multiple GOP-controlled states.
On the leadership side, Loeb was re-elected as IATSE president, once again running unopposed, along with 13 vice presidents and three trustees. Loeb has served as guild president since 2008, when he was selected by the IATSE general executive board to succeed the retiring Tommy Short.
Loeb is also overseeing negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on a new bargaining agreement. Negotiations were paused while the AMPTP negotiated changes to the entertainment industry’s COVID-19 protocols but are tentatively set to resume on Aug. 17.
As for future goals, a resolution passed at the convention has directed IATSE’s negotiators to push for paid family medical leave in the next bargaining agreement. Additionally, organizers in IATSE Local 871 have developed a campaign to push negotiators to demand higher pay for writer assistants, script coordinators, art direction coordinators and assistant production coordinators, all of whom work at wages of $16/hour that sit below the living wage in Los Angeles.
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