News Updates

The IATSE Women’s Committee Salutes Newly Elected AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and Her Administration

The IATSE Women’s Committee had the good fortune of hearing from President Shuler at our recent event in July, held in conjunction with the IATSE’s 69th Quadrennial Convention. President Shuler’s remarks that day reinforced her commitment to the passage of the PRO Act and focused on its impact to secure an equitable workplace for women and men throughout our industry. Her leadership, in collaboration with Fred Redmond, newly elected Secretary-Treasurer and Executive Vice President Tefere Gebre, is the most diverse administration since the inception of the AFL-CIO in 1955.

As women members of the IATSE, we applaud the leadership of this next phase of the Labor Movement – Shuler, Redmond, Gebre –  and trust that Together We Rise!

Cutting unemployment insurance did not boost job growth, but did cause suffering for millions of jobless workers—all of which was preventable

The July state employment and unemployment data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed that the strong job growth reported earlier this month in the national jobs data was widespread throughout the country. And, notably, the states that chose not to cut pandemic unemployment insurance (UI) benefits have experienced, on average, greater job growth in recent months than states that cut benefits to unemployed workers. Read more ➔

Local 8 Holds Rally to Extend Unemployment Benefits

With unemployment benefits scheduled to expire the first week of September, millions of workers are facing an unprecedented financial cliff.

IATSE Local 8 was joined by the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO on Tuesday to demand that politicians in Washington support live entertainment workers until the pandemic is truly behind us.

You can still help in the fight to extend benefits for over 11 million workers that need them to make ends meet. Write to your representatives in just a few clicks here ➔

Scorching Heat Is Killing Workers. Some States Are Stepping In.

Shannon Foley, a Local 415 stagehand in Tucson, Arizona, spoke last week at an event to raise awareness of the heat risks workers face and push for more protections.

Foley called on state regulators to issue heat standards, saying the union protections she now enjoys—including rest breaks, water and the ability to prioritize her safety without fear of retribution—should be available to all workers. Federal safety regulators have issued no standards to protect workers from heat-related hazards, but some states have begun acting on their own, requiring employers to provide shade, cooldown breaks and drinking water, among other measures. Read more ➔

Vote NO on the Anti-Union Recall

We need every vote to protect working people and their families. As soon as you get your ballot, vote NO on the Recall to protect our decades of hard-fought progress! The Recall is funded by anti-union millionaires to roll back decades of progress on workers’ rights in California. Anti-union special interests are funneling millions into the recall campaign to weaken or eliminate laws that protect our pay, health care, retirement and safety on the job.

Take action to stop the anti-union Recall ➔