Who We Are

Local 16 is part of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States and Canada (IATSE). The IATSE represents technicians who serve all parts of the entertainment industry.

Since the birth of our organization over 100 years ago, IATSE stagehands and movie operators have been joined by a great variety of other crafts. Technicians and artists in motion picture and television production, product demonstration and industrial shows, conventions, facility maintenance, audio visual presentation, and motion picture computer graphics, to name a few, have all banded together to achieve the maximum unified strength possible.

Our Goal

Our goal at IATSE Local 16 is to represent workers in the San Francisco Bay Area, wherever they work, and to work to provide them and their families with benefits that can travel with them from employer to employer.

With union representation, you could change jobs without fear of losing your health insurance and with a consistent retirement benefit, two of the basic necessities for achieving and maintaining a quality life.

Worker Rights

The Federal Government has determined that workers have the right to organize and to bargain collectively and that it is in the best interest of commerce for employers to accept collective bargaining when the workers determine that they want it. The government has also determined that the inequality of bargaining power between unorganized workers and powerful employers tends to cause depression and low wages. Therefore the government has protected these rights by the Taft-Hartley Act and the National Labor Relations Act.

Workers have the right to elect a union or organize their own union to represent them, and employers can not legally dismiss a worker for looking into joining a union, for promoting union membership or for belonging to a union.

Commitment to Technology

IATSE members have always embraced new technology. As the film industry has evolved new technologies from 3-D Stereoscope, Cinerama, and Cinemascope, to IMAX and beyond, the IATSE has innovated to support and propel the industry.

Education & Training

As the industry is ever changing, training and education are critical to the IATSE. Local 16 has a comprehensive education and apprenticeship programs.

Organizing

To provide workers with the greatest opportunities, Local 16 negotiates contracts with major employers in the San Francisco Bay Area. We welcome freelance workers as well who want to maintain quality benefits as they work for different employers.