IATSE 3rd 2019_web

for their advice, and to Safety and Training
Outreach Coordinator Hannah
D’Amico for doing great work to put the
materials together. Credit goes to Special
Representative Don Martin who was
persistent in his advocacy for course development.
This presentation is available
to local unions upon request, by emailing
Hannah D’Amico in the General Office
hdamico@iatse.net.
President Loeb thanked Department
Director White for her report and the
great work on this issue. In the industries
IATSE members work in, stewards
must have different skills and tools than
stewards in other industries, and this
training is tailored to those needs.
USITT
International Trustee and Director
of Education Patricia A. White, International
Representatives Radar Bateman,
Mark Kiracofe, Daniel Little, and Allison
Smartt, IATSE Safety Committee Chair
Kent Jorgensen, and ICAP Member
Alan Rowe reported on the 2019 United
States Institute for Theatre Technology
(USITT) Conference and Stage Expo.
The 59th annual USITT Conference
and Stage Expo was held in March in
Louisville, KY. This event has historically
fostered close collaboration between
educators and stagecraft professionals.
Throughout the convention IATSE representatives,
university faculty, vendors,
students, potential members, and current
members interact at meetings and
education sessions. Exchanging information,
promoting the IATSE, and displaying
union values to a coming generation
of workers makes USITT an invaluable
opportunity. Coordinated, strategic, and
long-term planning surrounding this
event helps build union power. The IA
activities and topics and at USITT generally
include, the IA exhibition booth, educational
panels, industry safety, technical
theatre, student outreach, and equity,
diversity, and inclusion.
The IATSE booth on the exhibition
floor acts as the center for IATSE representatives
to educate students, university
faculty, and potential members on the
values and functions of the union and
provide them with information about
various Locals. With hundreds of exhibitors,
including vendors, and industry
professionals, the exhibition floor gives
IA representatives opportunities to meet
with various groups and discuss potential
IATSE member training and employment
opportunities for young workers.
The event also sparks thoughts about
future organizing opportunities. In addition
to the International, Locals One,
USA829, and 705 also had booths on the
show floor.
In addition to staffing the booth and
attending relevant panels, IATSE representatives
also participate in and led a
wide-range of sessions including ESTA
meetings, Technical Standards meetings,
and ETCP council meetings. Leading up
to the conference on March 18 and 19,
ICAP members Joe Aldridge, Kent Jorgenson,
and Alan Rowe, assisted by IATSE
members Mike Murphy (Local 369) and
Michael Pittman (Local 13), taught a
two-day OSHA-10 general entertainment
safety course. Dozens of people attended
the course. Attendees were fully
engaged and appreciative of the content.
Eddie Raymond was one of the principal
organizers for the ESTA’s second annual
New World Rigging Symposium, a meeting
which drew 175 attendees, the majority
of whom are IATSE members.
USITT 2019 included many presentations
that focused on equity, diversity
and inclusion, which was a prominent
theme and a topic that many young technicians
care genuinely about. One panel
focusing on parenthood in the theater
featured an IATSE member who spoke
highly of her ‘union family’ and their role
in helping raise her child. Representatives
also attended panels sponsored by the
USITT Safety and Health Commission
and established connections with commission
principals. This year, the Safety
and Health Commission placed special
emphasis on mental health awareness.
Representatives attended several
relevant panels on technical theater, including
information about working as
an employee as opposed to an independent
contractor. These panels lacked
union involvement, but Representatives
nonetheless participated to initiate
union-friendly discussions. This year’s
conference included the Digital Media
Commission’s inaugural meeting. This
area of importance to the future of many
IATSE crafts provided an opportunity to
connect with the Commission’s leadership,
which expressed interest in working
with the IATSE at future conferences.
This year’s IATSE-sponsored panel
titled “Backstage to Big Screen,” featured
IATSE members from Locals 481,
764, and Local USA829, and its purpose
was to highlight the similarities and differences
between live theatre and the
motion picture industry. Locals also
hosted education sessions. Local 764
sponsored a panel about the essentials
of working in wardrobe, which fea-
THIRD QUARTER 2019 99