Matthew Loeb has been running the 150,000-plus-strong IATSE for 17 years, and he’s going to add to that total. The labor union has re-elected Loeb, who ran unopposed, as president for a fourth full term.
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees late Thursday also re-elected its General Secretary-Treasurer James B. Wood, along with 13 VPs and others at the quadrennial convention in Honolulu. Loeb has led the union since 2008. He was previously a shop person who worked on projects like Malcolm X and Jacob’s Ladder.
“I am honored and humbled to continue the work we do together,” Loeb said. “Let’s seize this momentum, lock arms and get ready for the fights of the future.”
By the end of Loeb’s next term, he will have been running the crew union for more than two decades. IATSE presidents don’t have term limits.
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees reps behind-the-scenes workers in live theatre, film and TV production, trade shows and exhibitions, television broadcasting and concerts. Its members are employed by staging, lighting and sound companies; media production companies; and venues utilized for political campaigns for rallies and events.
The re-elected leaders will have a tough few years ahead of them as the major Hollywood unions continue to push for bolstered domestic physical production. IATSE, which also represents workers in Canada, has been at the forefront of the calls to bring production back to North America, recently helping secure additional funding in California. However, union leaders also have their sights set on a federal incentive, though it’s unclear if that will ever come to pass. So far, the Trump administration has barely engaged on the subject, beyond POTUS vaguely floating the idea of tariffs on projects filmed overseas, which went over like a lead balloon.
Deadline understands that one of Trump’s appointed ambassadors to Hollywood, Jon Voight, has been engaging with the unions on other ways to boost production, since the labor leaders view tariffs as a no-go.
During Thursday’s convention, the delegates unanimously passed a resolution to advocate for the federal incentive. Other resolutions included advocacy for AI protections, support for Canadian members during the U.S.–Canada trade conflict, opposition to discrimination, advocacy for the PRO Act, support for the unionization of production accountants, and more.
