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ties within their Locals, workplaces, and
communities.
Building upon its growth, in 2016 the
Committee scheduled and held a more
recent IATSE Young Workers Conference
in Atlanta. The 2016 Conference included
over one-hundred young members representing
fifty-eight Locals from across
the U.S. and Canada. This Conference
was approximately 85 percent first-time
attendees. The Conference again focused
on activism and prior conference attendees
who have become active had
the opportunity to network with their
peers. International Vice President Faye
Harper addressed the conference along
with Local 479 president Ray Brown and
guests from the Federal Mediation and
Conciliation Services.
The 2016 Conference presentations
educated attendees about problem-solving
and tactics for addressing conflicts.
Young workers had opportunities to share
the challenges and successes they were
experiencing. Again, they were offered
a compelling history lesson on the birth
of the labor movement and the rise of
the IATSE. Importantly, the Conference
instructed the group on the importance
of organizing unrepresented workers and
the pivotal role that unions play at bargaining
tables and within electoral politics.
The Committee was satisfied that the
2016 Conference offered attendees critical
teaching about the importance of young
activists within the Alliance.
The Young Workers Committee again
tracked the progress of the 2016 attendees
during the year following the Conference.
The quantitative reports about the
more recent Conference were impressive.
Well over half of the young workers at the
2016 Conference have reported that they
have taken roles in community, social,
or political activism. Young members
from Locals around the U.S. and Canada
have—among other actions—become
local officers, hosted events to benefit
charities, organized trainings, and influenced
many fellow members to follow
their lead.
In addition to these events, the Young
Workers Committee has also published
the IATSE Young Worker Group How-To
Guide to reach even more young union
members. The guide assists members
who desire to start a young worker group
within their IA local union. It includes
important details about recruiting participants,
forming unifying activities, and
general interests of young workers. Delegates
to this Convention who are not
familiar with the IATSE Young Worker
Group How-To Guide should obtain
copies from the IATSE website. The
Young Workers Committee has also distributed
periodic e-mail activism tips,
which serve as a starting point for local,
community, and workplace activism. The
messages have been widely distributed
and well-received.
The IATSE Young Workers Committee
has also extended its reach to
our national affiliates and global allies.
The IATSE Young Workers have been
privileged to host young members from
BECTU (the IATSE’s sister union in the
U.K.) at the most recent young workers’
conferences. BECTU’s representatives
routinely offer their valuable perspectives.
Similarly, members of the IATSE Young
Workers Committee have been honored
to attend the BECTU Young Members
Forum in the U.K. for several consecutive
years. Together, BECTU and IATSE young
members have deliberated about future
initiatives and the global political, and
cultural anti-union forces faced by young
workers in the entertainment industry.
IATSE Young Workers were also represented
at the 2016 UNI Youth Global
Conference and corresponding UNI
Youth Global Organizing Forum in Cape
Town, South Africa. These events gathered
together UNI-affiliated union participants
from all over the world. The
events taught participants organizing
lessons and exposed the IATSE Young
Workers to ways that our global allies are
organizing and winning achievements
within their local communities. We will
continue to expose our young members
to the importance and power of international
solidarity and unite them in our
fight for workers’ rights worldwide.
On a national level in the U.S., the
IATSE Young Workers Committee has
been represented on the AFL-CIO Young
Worker Advisory Council and at the most
recent AFL-CIO Convention. Members
of the IATSE Young Workers Committee
and IA local unions have represented
the Alliance at meetings of the AFL-CIO
Young Worker Advisory Council,
AFL-CIO youth strategies sessions, and
the AFL-CIO Next Up Young Worker
Summit. These events have focused on
building young worker power from the
ground up. They offered many valuable
opportunities for the young workers of
the Alliance to engage with leaders from
other AFL-CIO affiliates and to understand
the policies underlying the AFL-
CIO’s youth platform.
In Canada, the IATSE Young Workers
Committee has been active in the Ca-
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