Matthew Loeb has been re-elected as international president of IATSE, along with several other top union leaders, after running unopposed. The reappointments were made Thursday during the union’s 70th quadrennial convention in Honolulu.
General secretary-treasurer James B. Wood and 13 international vice presidents will also continue in their current roles. Loeb, who worked as a former scenic artist on films like “Jacob’s Ladder” and “Malcolm X,” has been in office since 2008 for IATSE.
With this latest re-election, he will enter another four-year term. By the end of it, he will have led the nearly 170,000-member union for over two decades. IATSE, which represents behind-the-scenes workers in film, television, live theater, concerts and trade shows, places no term limits on its international presidents.
“I am honored and humbled to continue the work we do together,” Loeb said in a statement. “Let’s seize this momentum, lock arms and get ready for the fights of the future.”
IATSE has been a major player in the effort to bring film and television production back to the United States. The union recently secured a victory in California, where increased funding and revisions to the state’s tax incentive program were implemented. Now, IATSE is preparing to push for a federal tax incentive that would complement existing state-level programs. Union leaders previously attempted to attach the measure to former President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” but the effort ultimately fell short.
Other resolutions that passed during the Honolulu convention included support for Canadian union members during the U.S.-Canada trade conflict, opposition to discrimination, increased protections for diverse workers in the entertainment industry and a pledge of support for the unionization of the Production Accountant craft in the Motion Picture and Television production industry.
According to IATSE, this week’s convention saw the highest turnout in its history with 982 elected delegates in attendance.
