This is the next post in our series that will take a deeper look at each of our affiliates. The series will run weekly until we've covered all 65 of our affiliates. Next up is Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE).
Name of Union: International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees
Mission: To improve the lives of behind-the-scenes entertainment workers by securing fair wages, safe working conditions, strong benefits, and respect for every craft in film, television, live events, the performing arts and other sectors of the entertainment industry.
Current Leadership of Union: Matthew D. Loeb serves as international president. He was first elected in 2008 and was reelected to his fourth term in 2025. He has been a member of United Scenic Artists Local 829 since 1989, Local 52 since 1996 and Local 491 since it was established in 1994. Loeb was IATSE’s first director of Motion Picture and Television Production. He also serves on UNI Global Union’s World Executive Board and is president of UNI’s Media, Entertainment and Arts sector.
James B. Wood is the general secretary-treasurer. IATSE also has 13 international vice presidents: Michael J. Barnes, Damian Petti, Michael F. Miller Jr., John Lewis, Craig Carlson, Colleen A. Glynn, Paul F. Dean Jr., Carlos Cota, Toni Burns, Apple Thorne, Chris O’Donnell, Vanessa Holtgrewe and Carl Mulert.
Current Number of Members: 170,000
Members Work As: Virtually all behind-the-scenes entertainment jobs, in crafts ranging from motion picture animators to theater ushers.
Industries Represented: All forms of live theater, motion picture and television production and postproduction, trade shows and exhibitions, television broadcasting, concerts, video games, and the equipment and construction shops that support all these areas of the entertainment industry.
History: IATSE formed in 1893 when representatives of stagehands from 11 cities met in New York. They pledged to support each other’s efforts to obtain better wages and working conditions. As technology advanced, the union moved to embrace workers in emerging crafts, expanding their movement beyond the stage to the nascent silent film industry in the 1920s. The union continues to carry this legacy through its adaptable structure and ambitious organizing goals that helped IATSE become the largest entertainment union in the world.
Current Campaigns: IATSE continues to organize workers in entertainment crafts that involve new technologies or have been historically unrepresented, including workers in visual effects, video games and off-Broadway.
Legislative and political activism and advocacy are a constant as the union seeks to protect union jobs in the United States and Canada in the face of increased globalization of the film and television industry. Read the complete IATSE Federal Issue Agenda here.
The campaign to protect workers from harmful effects of artificial intelligence (AI) implementation in the entertainment industry is a key priority, and involves a multipronged approach including contract negotiations, contract enforcement, legislative lobbying, member education and more. Read IATSE’s core principles for addressing AI here.
IATSE recently launched a campaign to win health and retirement benefits for concert touring crews, and has been engaging directly with well-known musicians and their crews to make it possible.
Community Efforts: IATSE provides education and training for union leaders and members. The union has significant mutual aid capability, with members coming together to support members in need during the Southern California wildfires in 2025. IATSE also has scholarships for members and their families. IATSE has created constituency committees: Women’s; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Pride; Young Workers; Disaster Response; and Green.
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