IATSE Local One

In 1863 the first stage employees' organization was named the Theatrical Workman's Council and then became the Theatrical Mechanical Association in 1865 when it incorporated under New York State law. This was encouraged by Abraham Lincoln being elected president of the United States with the votes of the working class. When a flat dropped on acclaimed actor Louis James during Hamlet's soliloquy, the actor retired to his dressing room and informed management that he would not return to the stage until the professional stagehands were reinstated. They were. The bond between stagehands and actors, still solid today, was made fast. The success of Theatrical Protective Union in New York did not go unnoticed in other cities. The Theatrical Protective Union of New York was designated Theatrical Protective Union Number One in honor of its place in history. The Local became better known as Local One of the National Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, the "mother local" of the Alliance and today holds a place of honor whenever the Alliance meets. The National Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees became the International Alliance of Theatrical Employees in 1902 (IATSE) to better reflect the addition of Canadian locals. By 1916, Local One was putting its union stamp (the "bug") on all scenery and equipment built in its jurisdiction. By then, most scenery was being built in New York for shows in the city or to be sent out on tour and the bug became the symbol to stagehand locals throughout the country that the scenery coming in the stage door was union made by a sister local. The 1920s was the dawn of broadcasting that boomed in the 1930s. Radio, though slow to spread, would mean entertainment delivered to the living room took the lead when it formed NBC. William Paley soon formed the Columbia Broadcasting Service (CBS) to compete.