Matthew D. Loeb has been re-elected as International President of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), extending his leadership of the 170,000-member union through another four-year term.
According to THR, which first reported the news, the re-election came during the union’s quadrennial convention, held this year in Honolulu, where Loeb and a slate of incumbent leaders, including General Secretary-Treasurer James B. Wood and 13 international vice presidents, ran unopposed and were reaffirmed by attending delegates.
Loeb, a former scenic artist and shopperson with credits on films like Jacob’s Ladder and Malcolm X, first took over IATSE’s top job in 2008. With this latest term, he is on track to lead the organization for more than two decades, overseeing film, television, theater, live events, and trade show crews across the U.S. and Canada.
“I am honored and humbled to continue the work we do together,” Loeb said in a statement released after the vote. “Let’s seize this momentum, lock arms, and get ready for the fights of the future.”
That future includes a number of significant challenges. In the wake of the streaming contraction, many IATSE locals are still grappling with staggeringly high unemployment rates, reportedly as high as 50% in some regions. Delegates used the convention as a platform to push forward a number of resolutions aimed at bolstering the industry’s resilience, including:
- Renewed advocacy for a federal film and TV tax incentive to complement state-level credits
- Support for organizing production accountants
- Investment in both protections from and training around generative AI and machine learning
- Reinforced backing of Canadian members amid ongoing U.S.-Canada trade tensions
- A recommitment to diversity, inclusion, and the protection of American workers in entertainment
IATSE has been actively pushing to bring more production work back to U.S. soil. One major victory came earlier this year when union leaders helped secure changes to California’s tax incentive program. Now, with a federal initiative back on the agenda, IATSE is gearing up for another political push in Washington, an effort previously floated during the Trump administration but never realized.
According to IATSE, the Honolulu gathering saw record attendance, with 982 delegates present, marking the highest turnout in the convention’s history.
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