NEW YORK, NY — International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) President Matthew D. Loeb today appointed Steve Belsky and Fran O’Hern to be Co-Directors of the union’s Broadcast Department. They will take over from former Director Sandra England, who let the Department from its creation in 2012 until she retired this month.

Steve Belsky joined the I.A.T.S.E. in 1992, when the new Studio Mechanics Local in Texas (Local 484) was chartered, and was elected to its first executive board as business manager for the state’s Central Region. In 1996, he was elected president and has served in that capacity in all but three years since. Steve is also a camera operator in Local 600 and was a Chief Lighting Technician in Local 728 for ten years (honorably withdrawn). Steve holds bachelor degrees in government and Hispanic linguistics from the University of Texas and a J.D. from South Texas College of Law. And since 2005, Steve has been coordinating the state-wide film incentive lobbying effort on behalf of the Texas Studio Mechanics. In 2014, Steve became an Int’l Representative in the Broadcast Dept., working with Sandra England. His focus was primarily contract negotiation and drafting as well as organizing and administering the various Broadcast Jurisdictions. In 2015 he became the 6th District Secretary and continues as Local 484 President. Outside of work, Steve is an avid motorsports enthusiast, machinist, and fabricator with an interest in all things mechanical.

After graduating From Michigan State University with both a B.A. and M.A. in 1981, Francis O’Hern began an almost 30-year career in broadcast television production, working in a number of crafts, from camera operator to technical director. From 1989 on, he worked as an audio engineer for sports broadcast in Chicago and nationally. In 2004 he was instrumental in organizing Chicago sports broadcast technicians under an IATSE contract and was subsequently elected president of the new IATSE Broadcast Local there, 762, a post he still holds. He was hired full time into the IATSE Organizing Department in 2010 and was an original member of the IATSE Broadcast Department when it was formed in 2012. In that role he has helped sports broadcast technicians working in major TV markets and for regional and national employers organize themselves under IATSE representation. In addition to his work for the IATSE, Fran is a member of the Chicago Entertainment Industry Labor Council. He enjoys spending time with his wife and family and playing and coaching basketball.

“I am proud to appoint Steve and Fran to lead the Broadcast Department at this moment in its history,” President Loeb said. “The Department has already had many great successes thanks to their work as International Representatives, improving working conditions for thousands of people by organizing Regional Sports Networks and other broadcast technicians across the United States. Sandy is an incredible organizer, and she leaves big shoes to fill, but I have faith in Steve and Fran. They bring an ambitious energy to the work and will continue to empower broadcast workers everywhere.”