IATSE EQUALITY STATEMENT
The following Equality Statement was unanimously approved at the 2015 Winter General Executive Board Meeting in Hollywood, Florida, and updated at the 2018 Mid-Summer General Executive Board Meeting in New York City. It outlines the IATSE’s commitment to creating an inclusive working environment where differences are valued and equality is celebrated.
Equal rights are the cornerstone of the labor movement. Unions were founded on the principle that all people are equal and all people are deserving of respect and fair treatment. Equality issues run through all areas of trade union activities – from health and safety to wage negotiations.
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) is committed to equality of opportunity and to eliminating all forms of discrimination. We are opposed to unlawful and unfair discrimination and oppression on the grounds of sex, gender identity and expression, relationship or marital status, race or ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, age, language, background, political or religious beliefs, physical appearance, pregnancy or responsibility for dependents.
We believe that equality for all is a basic human right and we actively oppose all forms of unlawful and unfair discrimination. IATSE leaders and members must be vigilant in working, both with each other and with our employers, to promote an equal and welcoming environment for all people, through our actions, attitudes, and language. The IATSE celebrates the diversity of society and is striving to promote and reflect that diversity within this organization.
Déclaration IATSE sur l’égalité
La Déclaration sur l’égalité qui suit a été votée à l’unanimité lors de la réunion hivernale du bureau syndical générale qui a eu lieu à Hollywood en Floride. Cette déclaration décrit l’engagement de l’IATSE à créer un milieu de travail inclusif ou les différences sont valorisées et l’égalité est célébrée.
Les droits égaux sont la pierre angulaire du mouvement syndical. Les syndicats ont été fondés sur le principe de l’égalité de tous les êtres humains et toute personne mérite le respect et le traitement équitable. Des questions d’équités traversent toutes les sphères d’activités des organisations syndicales, de la santé et la sécurité jusqu’aux négociations salariales.
L’Alliance internationale des employés de la scène (IATSE) s’engage à travailler pour promouvoir l’égalité des chances et pour éliminer toutes formes de discrimination. Nous nous opposons à toute forme de discrimination et oppression illégale fondées sur le sexe, l’identité ou l’expression de genre, l’état des relations ou la situation familiale, la race ou l’ethnicité, les aptitudes physiques, l’orientation sexuelle, l’âge, la langue, les antécédents, les croyances religieuses ou politiques, l’apparence physique, la grossesse, et la responsabilité pour des personnes à charge.
Nous croyons que l’égalité pour tous les individus est un droit humain fondamental et nous nous opposons activement à toutes formes de discrimination illégale et injuste. Les dirigeants de l’IATSE ainsi que ses membres doivent travailler avec vigilance, ensemble et avec nos employeurs, pour promouvoir un environnement équitable et accueillant pour tous les peuples, et ce, par nos actions, nos attitudes, et notre langage. L’IATSE célèbre la diversité de la société et s’efforce à promouvoir et à refléter cette diversité au sein de notre organisation.
(IATSE International “IATSE Equality Statement” https://www.iatse.net, IATSE, 1 January 2021, https://www.iatse.net/equality.
History
Local 18 Milwaukee, Wisconsin was chartered in the National Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees on July 20, 1894. Just over eight years later, on July 24, 1902, it was chartered as a member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees of the United States and Canada.
On May 2, 1903 IATSE Local 18 was duly admitted to representation in the Wisconsin Federation of Labor and on July 23, 1958 it was admitted to the Wisconsin AFL-CIO.
ABOUT THE IATSE
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories and Canada was founded in 1893 when representatives of stagehands working in eleven cities met in New York and pledged to support each other’s efforts to establish fair wages and working conditions for their members. Our union has evolved over the succeeding 123 years to embrace the development of new entertainment mediums, craft expansion, technological innovation and geographic growth.
Today the IATSE is the largest union representing workers in the entertainment industry. Our 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. We represent virtually all the behind the scenes workers in crafts ranging from motion picture animator to theater usher.
During a period when private sector union membership has been in sharp decline the IATSE has continued to grow. In 2016, our membership reached over 130,000. This growth is attributable to our willingness to adapt our structure to protect our 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 our 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 our crafts.
