Latest in Matt Loeb

IATSE international president Matt Loeb today called on the Senate to scrap the Republican-backed HEALS Act and instead pass the House Democrats' HEROES Act. The Dems’ bill would extend the $600 weekly federal unemployment benefit through the end of the year for those left out of work by the pandemic, while the GOP…

Leaders of SAG-AFTRA and IATSE hosted a virtual town hall meeting today Tuesday with Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) to discuss the impact of coronavirus on the entertainment industry and their efforts to get the industry back to work. The main thrust of the meeting was to explain the need for new legislation to close the…

IATSE president Matt Loeb is calling on the federal government to enact "emergency relief" for the thousands of entertainment industry workers who have suddenly found themselves without jobs because of the coronavirus pandemic. Specifically, he's calling for new measures that would ensure the continuity of health…

EXCLUSIVE: More than 11,000 IATSE members and their supporters have signed a petition urging IATSE president Matt Loeb to work out a contract with Netflix "that moves us above and beyond" the union's basic agreement with the major studios and networks. The giant streaming service agreed to bargain with the union last…

As negotiations enter the homestretch for IATSE's first national contract with Netflix, members from a dozen of its locals are urging IATSE president Matt Loeb "to be relentless” at the bargaining table in order to provide “much-needed income to secure the future funding of our pensions.” In April, the trustees of the…

IATSE president Matt Loeb has joined the chorus of complaints about the upcoming Oscar telecast, demanding that the Academy "reverse course" and reinstate cinematographers, editors and makeup artists and hairstylists to the full Oscar program. Last week, the Academy announced that the Oscars for those three categories…

Former IATSE Sound Local 695 business agent Jim Osburn is taking his fight against IATSE president Matt Loeb all the way to the Supreme Court, accusing Loeb of "stifling dissent" through "dictatorial tactics." Loeb placed the Sound Local into trusteeship in February 2014 and removed Osburn from office just weeks after…

EXCLUSIVE, updated with Rhino Staging Northwest statement: IATSE's ongoing labor dispute with Rhino Staging Northwest has spilled over to Michelle Obama's book tour. The union is seeking to enlist the former First Lady in its efforts to win a contract with the company, a subcontractor that supplies riggers and…

In a year-end message to her members, Cathy Repola, national executive director of Editors Guild Local 700, said that IATSE president Matt Loeb "had no interest in any input from me" during the union's recent negotiations for a new film and TV contract. "He was not interested in what I had to say and was completely…

IATSE president Matt Loeb is hailing Tuesday night's election returns as "a victory for working people all across the country," saying that "IATSE-supported candidates won in almost every state where we competed." One of those winning candidates was Democrat Katie Hill, who unseated Republican Steve Knight in a tight…

UPDATED with statement from Editor Guild executive: IATSE president Matt Loeb has sternly rebuked Editors Guild leaders Cathy Repola and Alan Heim, telling them that their claim that she was removed as a director of the union's pension and health plans in retaliation for her opposition to IATSE's new film and TV…

EXCLUSIVE: IATSE international president Matt Loeb has unceremoniously booted Cathy Repola off the board of directors of the union's pension and health plans after she tangled with him over the ratification of the union's new film and TV contract. Repola, the national executive director of the Editors Guild, IATSE…