International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees

207 West 25th Street
4th Floor
New York, NY 10001
Telephone:  (212) 730-1770
http://iatse.net/

Matthew D. Loeb, International President
James B. Wood, General Secretary-Treasurer

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories and Canada, AFL-CIO, CLC (IATSE) was founded in 1893 when representatives of stagehands working in eleven cities met in New York and pledged to support each others’ efforts to establish fair wages and working conditions for their members. The IATSE has embraced the development of new entertainment mediums, craft expansion, technological innovation and geographic growth.

The IATSE is the largest union representing workers in the entertainment industry. Its members work in all forms of live theater, motion picture and television production, trade shows and exhibitions, television broadcasting, and concerts as well as the equipment and construction shops that support all these areas of the entertainment industry. IATSE represent virtually all the behind the scenes workers in crafts ranging from motion picture animator to theater usher.

Since 1993, the IATSE membership has increased from 74,344 to over 140,000. This growth is attributable to its willingness to adapt its structure to protect its traditional jurisdiction and accommodate new crafts. But that alone is insufficient. The IATSE has maintained and enhanced its position in the vanguard of the entertainment industry through effective rank and file empowerment, political engagement, and its dedication to grass roots organizing. On both the International and local union levels, the motivating principle of the IATSE is to represent every worker employed in its crafts.