Become a Member

Become a Local One Member

If you are one of the many people working non-union in the areas that support the Entertainment Industry in Manhattan, Staten Island, the Bronx, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, and Putnam Counties and have become frustrated in your job because of:

  • Low pay

  • Promised or implied raises that never seem to materialize

  • Irregular or "scattered" hours for which the total compensation fails to meet your family's basic needs

  • Lack of basic benefits such as health care, vacation, retirement account, and a pension plan

  • Unsafe or unhealthy workplace conditions and your understandable reluctance to call these matters to the attention of your employer for fear of losing your job

I.A.T.S.E. Local One is the solution for you!

Local One’s Organizing Committee has set up these pages to try to answer your questions about how to become a member of Local One, what the benefits are, what your legal protections are, some of the venues organized, and to give you the facts about Local One and working under a union contract.

Member Registration

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Secure Your Future

As a Local One member, you will earn better wages and benefits than stagehands and technicians who aren’t union members. On average, in the U.S., union workers’ wages are 30 percent higher than their non-union counterparts, and this benefit is even greater for women and minorities. In addition, you will also have health insurance and a guaranteed pension. I.A.T.S.E. Local One helps employers create a more stable, productive workforce - one where workers have a say in improving their job conditions. Together, all of these benefits add up to a better quality of life for you and your family.

If you are either a stagehand or an employee at a theatre, studio, or shop and you are currently not a member of Local One or working under a Local One contract, please consider the following:

  • Without union representation, employers can pay you anything they want, from minimum wage on up. There is no law that requires them to pay anything more than minimum wage

  • Without union representation and a contract, an employer has no obligation to provide you with benefits such as health care coverage or retirement savings plans

  • And, without union representation, you can be fired for any reason - or no reason at all. Local One has been successful in negotiating contracts that provide protection for employees from being disciplined or discharged by employers without just cause. In addition, there are representatives who can represent you in your problems with management

Federal law protects the right of employees to form, join, or assist labor organizations. In addition, it is an unfair labor practice to coerce employees into the exercise of these rights. Employers may not fire, threaten to fire, or in any way take action against an employee for supporting a union. 

Find Out What a Union Contract Could Do For You

Any information you give us is kept in strict confidence!

Call or email John Lott: (212) 333-2500

Three Ways to Join

Organizational List

The Organizational List is our means for those more experienced stagehands and technicians to get membership in the greatest entertainment local in the United States. None of the Local One contracts are closed-shop contracts, which means anyone who is capable of doing the work that is demanded of a qualified stagehand or technician is able to get hired. If you can demonstrate that you have the skills and work ethic needed in today’s highly competitive work environment on a consistent basis, you will earn membership.

To get on the Organizational List requires that you must earn at least $35,000.00 per year for three consecutive years in employment with employers who have collective bargaining agreements with Local One.

While it can seem daunting, the vast majority of our current members have gained membership in this manner. To aid in this, Local One has established a Replacement Room. While going from venue to venue, you will be able to see firsthand the scope and breadth of Local One’s jurisdiction.

Organizational Effort

A less common method for gaining membership is the much more difficult organizational effort. Local One is committed to bringing the legal protections that a union contract gives to any stagehand or technician that requests it. If you want to organize your nonunion employer, it will require that you have a firm belief in unionism, a passion for fairness and equity in your workplace, and hope to secure a better life for you, your family, and your co-workers. It is for people that have determined that a career in the entertainment industry in NYC is their life’s goal and will be willing to fight for it. If you are interested, contact Local one’s Organizer, John Lott, at Union Hall, (212) 333-2500.

There are many benefits and privileges available to Local One members. Some of the benefits and privileges of Union membership include the right to attend and participate in Union meetings, the right to nominate and vote for candidates for Union office, the right to run for Union office and for delegate to our international union (the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists, and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories, and Canada, AFL-CIO, CLC, I.A.T.S.E.) convention, the right to participate in contract ratification and strike votes, the right to participate in formulating collective bargaining demands, and the right to participate in the development and formulation in policies. Eligible and enrolled members are also entitled to benefits provided by the Union Privilege and Union Plus programs available through the I.A.T.S.E.

Your biggest benefit is that you are a member of the finest and first Local in the entertainment business in the United States and that you have the power to have a voice in your workplace. The greatest privilege is working alongside the men and women who set the highest standards of your chosen craft.

Apprenticeships: Apprentice tests to be announced in the future

A Local One apprenticeship can provide an opportunity to be trained in all aspects of the industry. With apprenticeships in theatres, television studios, and shops, not only do our apprentices receive hands-on training with some of the most cutting-edge technology in the business, they get to work side by side with Local One members learning crafts that have been at the forefront of our Union for 132 years.  

Apprentice positions last 2 to 3 years and lead to full membership status. To qualify for an apprenticeship within Local One, candidates must take a skills assessment test and place within the top 20 scores. If an apprenticeship within Local One is of interest to you, please contact the Local One office for more information.

How to Unionize

If you are a stagehand or technician in a theatre, shop, or venue and don't work for a company that has a contract with the Local One, you probably aren't getting the most out of your work.

YOU can change that. You and your co-workers have a guaranteed right under Federal law to form a union. Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act states:

"Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection..."

  • Without Local One representation, you are alone and isolated at the lowest end of the work environment, lacking the means to protect your own self-interests. No doubt, your personal experience will confirm the fact that alone, you have very little negotiating power against a producer, theatre owner, or shop owner who is determined to give you just as little as possible.

    With Local One representation, you are participating in critical decisions that affect your life, such as daily wages, continuing education, medical benefits for yourself and your family, holiday pay, retirement benefits, working conditions, and professional representation in the workplace. There is, indeed, strength in numbers, and with thousands of other IATSE workers on your side, you can have control over your future in this industry.

    Labor organizations in this country have sustained setbacks in recent years, but a dramatic turnabout is now afoot. Nationally, IATSE has regained almost complete control of its traditional jurisdiction. Get on board for one of the most historic rebirths in labor history. Things will only improve as we move into the future.

    Better Conditions and Better Pay
    Local One has negotiated hard and long with the producers, theatre owners, or shop owners to assure safe and decent working conditions for its members. It is an uphill battle, and it often seems like the boss is taking some of it away from us. But with strength in numbers, Local One can demand, and usually receive, the conditions and terms that are most essential for the membership. Our priorities include insuring the physical safety of our members, protecting your job security, and obtaining fair benefits and wages that continue to grow.

    How to Get Started and What to Expect
    Most unionization drives start as conversations between co-workers. Sometimes the spark is a simple, off-hand comment: "This place is nuts. We should have a union." Sometimes it's more dramatic, like a tirade from the boss or six weeks of long hours and no extra pay.

    Before you get too far along, you should speak with someone from Local One. We have organizers and attorneys who can help you navigate the legal and strategic issues that any organizing campaign will undoubtedly face. Give us a call or an email, and we'll help get things moving.

    What can we expect?
    If the majority of a crew sincerely wants a Local One contract and is willing to participate in a campaign to secure one, they can absolutely prevail. There must be a firm commitment to succeed and the ability to focus on the progression of campaign objectives.

  • Many theatre technicians in non-union venues, shops, and other non-typical workplaces have contacted us looking for Local One to help them and their families have better lives. Many ask the same basic questions that we will try to answer below.

    Q: Can I be discharged or suspended for union activity?
    A: If your Employer attempts to discharge, suspend, demote, or otherwise adversely affect your job because of your union activity, your Employer has violated the law. Federal law prohibits such activity and the remedy provided by law includes reinstatement to your position and payment of lost wages.

    Q: Can my employer threaten me if I want to join Local One?
    A: If your Employer threatens or seeks to penalize you in any manner because you support Local One, your Employer has violated the law.

    Q: Who will run my Union if we organize?
    A: You and your fellow stagehands and technicians run Local One. Since you elect your own Local
 officers, you run your own Local affairs, you make the decisions on your Union contract, you elect your Local Union officers and you decide by majority vote the policies of your Local Union.

    Q: Will the stagehands have help with grievances?
    A: Your grievance issues will be handled by one of your elected Local One business agents. All of Local One’s officers and Business Agents have been working stagehands and technicians and thoroughly understand the business of show business, working conditions backstage and the contract under which you will work.

    Q: Is a Producer with a Union contract more likely to go out of business than a Producer without a Union contract?
    A: The answer is NO – We just light them, we don’t write them. There are many reasons for a show’s success or failure. As an experienced stagehand you’ve seen them onstage. We have no control over what attracts an audience. A union contract won’t improve or detract from a production. Union contracts cover actors, musicians, press agents, directors, chorographers and designers. In fact, even in the smallest productions, you may be the only person involved in the show that is without some kind of union contract.

    Given Local One’s almost 125 years of experience in the business of show business, we recognize that there are different sorts of venues and shops and no one contract covers them all. It does no one any benefit if an employer goes out of business. Local One will not negotiate a contract that does not take into account the size and the economic reality of a particular employer.

    Q: What are the advantages of becoming a Local One member?
    A: There are many advantages. Here are just a few – Local One members enjoy much higher wages than non-unionized stagehands. Members and non-members working under a Local One contract have excellent healthcare benefits in a plan we control ourselves. A Local One member has an excellent retirement plan that again, we control ourselves. When you work under any Local One contract, all benefits go into the same benefit programs, not individual employer plans. If you work for multiple employers in the course of a year, all those benefits go into the same plan. There is no need to have to try to qualify for multiple plans and fall short.

    As a Local One member, you are also a member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), which is the pre-eminent trade union in the entertainment industry. Our members work in theatres throughout the U.S., on tour and in the film and television industries.

  • The following theatre, television studios, and shops have been organized recently.

    • Little Island

    • The Palladium

    • Tech Ops

    • Aaron Davis Hall/Harlem Stages (CUNY)

    • The Apollo Theatre

    • Brooklyn College Center for the Performing Arts (CUNY)

    • The Danny Kaye Playhouse, Hunter (CUNY)

    • Equitable Auditorium/Broadcast Center

    • The MTC Sam Friedman Theatre

    • HOSTOS (CUNY)

    • JPMorganChase Conference Centers

    • Merkin Hall

    • Summerstage-City Parks Foundation

    • The Rachael Ray Show

    • World Stages (Scharff/Weisberg Lighting)

  • Under Section 8(a) of the National Labor Relations Act, there are a number of actions that your employer and/or supervisors may not engage in, which constitute unfair labor practices (ULPs). These restrictions on the employer’s conduct are designed to protect and preserve your right to join a union under Section 7.

    Section 8(a)(1) of the NLRA states that the employer may not:

    "Interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed under Section 7."

    Examples of 8(a)(1) violations include:

    • Threatening to fire for union or concerted activity

    • Threatening to demote, reprimand, or punish in any way because of union activity

    • Conduction anti-union interrogations

    • Threatening to close or move the shop to escape the union

    • Threatening loss of benefits if the employees vote for the union

    • Promising benefits to employees in return for anti-union activities

    • Interfering with communication among employees or with attempts to organize by such means as unduly restrictive solicitation rules

    • Spying on union meetings

    • Granting benefits or wage increases timed to defeat union organization

    • Refusing to bargain in good faith with the union, once the union wins the election

    If you believe that your employer has committed any of these unfair labor practices, please contact us immediately.

What Tools to Bring to a Job

Recommended Minimum Tools 

  • 12/16 oz. Claw Hammer and Hamme Holster

  • Tool Pouch

  • Pliers

  • Diagonal Cutting Pliers (Dikes)

  • 8” & 10” Adjustable Wrench

  • 3/8 Drive Rachet

  • Deep Socket 3/8, 1/2, 7/16, 9/16, 3/4

  • Open end Wrenches 3/8, 1/2, 7/16, 9/16, 3/4

  • Diagonal Cutter (Dykes)

  • Straight and #2 Phillips Screwdriver

  • Small Pry Bar

  • 25’ Retractable Steel Tape

  • Utility/Pocket Knife/Multi Tool

  • Flashlight/Headlamp

  • Safety Glasses

  • Leather Gloves

  • Photo IDs for security & I-9 purposes

  • Ansi Approved Hard Hat

  • OSHA 30 Construction, possible SST

  • Suggestions Work Boots Hi-Vis Shirt or Vest.

Your supervisor will specify if there are any additional particular needs.