Craig Carlson was elected Local 2 Business Manager in 2005, he was elected IATSE Vice President in 2008. He’s on the IATSE PAC Committee, is a Stage Craft Department Member, and he is IATSE District 9 Chair. In 2013, Carlson was elected Illinois AFL-CIO Vice President, and he sits on the Chicago Entertainment Industry Labor Council.
Carlson initiated Local 2’s Journeyman / Apprentice Training Fund in 2007, he spearheaded Local 2’s first office purchase in 2008, and in 2023, he secured a $5M Illinois grant to construct a new Local 2 training center and administrative office that opened in 2025. President Loeb noted that this state-of-the-art training center is the result of one of the most effective activism campaigns he has seen and that it will make lives better for those we represent.
Carlson established a structured training curriculum that has provided Local 2 with many credentials covering virtually every discipline of their craft, including over 400 ETCP certificates. Many Midwestern Locals train with Local 2 where they have earned many ETCP and other credentials too.
Carlson organized Shakespeare Theatre, Aragon Ballroom, Joffrey Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Company, The James Lumber Center for the Performing Arts, The UIC Pavilion Technicians, Rosalind Franklin College AV & IT Workers, The Metropolis, Sound Co-Op, Des Plaines Theatre, ZinZanni, The Lighting Connection, and OSA.
He negotiated Local 2’s first agreements for work at the Obama Presidential Center, Now Arena, Salt Shed, Ramova Theatre, Radius, Lollapalooza, Riot Fest, Charter One Pavilion, Soldier Field, Wintrust Arena, Wrigley Field, Seat Geek Stadium, Indie Fest, Spring Awakening and many more. Carlson also brokered an agreement between Local 2, McCormick Place, Navy Pier, SMG, and the IBEW which has created thousands of jobs and makes McCormick Place Convention Center more attractive to producers.
Carlson also organized Bloomington’s Center for the Performing Arts (L193), Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum (L18), Alpine Valley Music Festival (L18), Steppenwolf Theatre (L750), Shakespeare Theatre (L750), Goodman Theatre (L750) and Riverside Theatre (L18) and negotiates various venue agreements in Kentucky, Iowa, West Virginia, Maryland, and more.
