IATSE Local 8 has filed with the NLRB to begin the process to welcome the Wilma Theater into the community of theaters with represented stagehands. The professional stagehands of the Wilma are seeking the same representation rights as other workers at the Wilma including Actors and Designers. As with every major change, people have questions and concerns. It is the intent of this site to provide the Wilma stagehands with information to allow them to make a good decision for their theater and their career.
Represented stagehands receive benefits through Employer Contributions, typically above and beyond hourly wages. The IATSE National Benefit Funds are multi-employer, Taft-Hartley trust funds established by the IATSE through collective bargaining with various entertainment industry employers. Generally, funding comes from contributing employers that are engaged in industries such as live theatre, motion picture, television, commercials, music videos, and trade shows and that have Collective Bargaining Agreements with IATSE or an affiliated local union. The Funds are governed by Boards of Trustees made up of an equal number of representatives of the IATSE (labor) and the employers (management). The IATSE National Benefit Funds include the Pension, Annuity, Health & Welfare, and Vacation Funds. Employees and employers participate in one or more Funds, depending on the terms of their Collective Bargaining Agreement. What makes multi-employer benefit funds so appealin...