VISION

CREW’S

We are IATSE members working in motion picture, stagecraft, tradeshow, broadcast, and other sectors of the entertainment industry seeking to build a more democratic and uncompromising union. We believe the strongest and most effective unions are led by members, and we reject the top-down business unionism of the status quo. Informed by labor history and in communion with the current labor movement, we will take up the work not getting done within our union.

Strong contracts, democracy, education, and solidarity are the key tenets of our organizing. Only when our members can collectively participate in decision-making will our union truly serve us. Only by sharing information and uniting to defend our common interests can we win better wages, benefits, and working conditions. We seek a transformed IATSE that aggressively fights for the betterment of its members and includes us in every step of negotiations, contract enforcement, and internal governance. 


Education

Democracy cannot function without an informed membership. To make good decisions, we require good information. Mutual communication between leaders and the members they serve is crucial. In the place of insularity, gatekeeping, and secrecy, we advocate for inclusion, transparency, and member engagement. We encourage members to communicate openly across crafts, trades, and locals and assert their right to free speech. Discussing wages and conditions is the bedrock of all union organizing. Only when we understand our shared conditions can we then take action to better them. We hope to foster a deep and widespread understanding of our union’s internal workings, as well as our contracts, labor law, labor history, and the diverse struggles of our union kin.

Strong Contracts

We create entertainment and culture that adds meaning to people’s lives, yet our industries operate with increasing disregard for our basic human needs. The wealth we produce is hoarded by our employers, while many of us are not able to live full and healthy lives with stable families, community involvement, and time for what we will. Overwork, high stress, and sleep deprivation should not be normal working conditions. We will fight for sufficient rest, regular breaks, reasonable schedules, sustainable workloads, safe workplaces, equal pay for equal work, and paid sick days. No concessions, no carve-outs, no side letters.

Democracy

Rank-and-file members are the lifeblood of any union, but busy workers can only be expected to participate when they believe it will make a difference. IATSE’s bureaucratic structure can often insulate our leadership from the will of members. Undemocratic hiring halls, opaque internal operations, and obstructionist administrations discourage engagement and weaken our ability to better our work lives. Democracy is essential for our strength as a union, and we support one member, one vote. Only with rank-and-file control can we make sure our union fights fully to advance our interests. We actively support other members’ rights to share information, speak out, form caucuses, participate in elections, and take collective action.

Solidarity

Only when we stand together do we have the power to force our employers to better our wages and conditions. Solidarity is not just spoken–it is physical and real, and it takes action: in our workplaces, throughout our neighborhoods, and across borders. An injury to one is an injury to all. Racism, sexism, transphobia, xenophobia, ableism, redbaiting and other forms of discrimination serve to divide us from coming together to pursue our common interests. Employers know the divide-and-conquer strategy well, for they stand to profit from it: if one of us is worse off than the rest, it lowers the floor for us all. We are committed to increasing the representation, participation, and leadership of the most exploited and oppressed. We strive to create a union culture free from prejudice. We will fight for equal pay for equal work, for fully-paid parental and sick leave, and against all unpaid and underpaid labor. We honor all picket lines and support other exploited workers and marginalized people across crafts, trades, and industries in the labor movement at large.

FAQ

  • CREW has been a nationally-minded caucus from the start. We began with a vision for a grassroots movement of union democracy that represented all crafts of IATSE, and haven’t stopped since. We are now comprised of IATSE workers across sectors from motion picture to theater to live events to stagecraft and beyond.

  • The “R” in “CREW” stands for “rank-and-file.” This movement prioritizes the voices of regular IATSE members who want to see a stronger union. While we are all members of IATSE and many CREW members choose to volunteer for service within their respective locals, we are not sponsored or directed by IATSE.

  • In IATSE, our locals are typically run by representatives that are duly elected by a majority of the voting body of that local. At the International level, such as for the seat of our International President, IATSE members have no such election power. Instead of direct voting, a system of representative delegates are sent to an IATSE convention every 4 years to vote for International leadership from an existing body of officers. CREW believes that IATSE members deserve the right to direct election of their International leadership, just as other powerful unions have won in the past.

Sound like the union you want?

If you’re ready to connect with a rank-and-file movement for democracy spanning 8 cities and counting, hit the button below to reach out and talk. We’re all IATSE members, just like you, and we want to amplify your voice.