Young Workers Committee
Overall, the Young Workers initiative aims to engage, encourage, educate, and support the next generation of active IATSE members and leaders to build long-term collective power. The AFL-CIO specifically defines “young workers” as those under the age of 35.
Creating a Young Workers Committee
A Young Workers committee can be founded at any local union, and is independently governed with the goal of encouraging participation in your Local. Local Young Workers committees have run food drives, organized phone banks, volunteered their skills, organized fellow entertainment workers, showed solidarity with other unions, and brought education opportunities to their local unions.
Click here to learn how to start a Young Workers Committee at your Local Union.
Young Workers Conference
Every two years, the International Young Workers Committee hosts the Young Workers Committee Conference, where active young members gather to learn about the history of the IATSE, gain valuable leadership skills, and network with IATSE kin from across the United States and Canada.
Previous Young Workers Committee Conferences include:
- 2012 Philadelphia, PA
- 2014 Portland, OR
- 2016 Atlanta, GA
- 2018 Silver Spring, MD
- 2020, Held Virtually
- 2022 Minneapolis, MN
- 2024 Calgary, AB
DETAILS FOR THE 2026 YWCC:
We are excited to announce the 2026 IATSE Young Workers Committee Conference (YWCC) will be held in-person in Toronto, ON on July 23-25, 2026.
What is it?
Every two years, the International Young Workers Committee hosts the Young Workers Committee Conference, where active young members gather to learn about the history of the IATSE, gain valuable leadership skills, and network with IATSE kin across the United States and Canada. Over 600 young IATSE members have attended one of our Young Workers Committee Conferences since the program began in 2012.
Who can attend and how?
All attendees must be nominated by their Local Executive Board to attend. Local Officers received instructions and a letter/email template to facilitate the nomination process. Nominations officially opened on February 18, 2026 and remain open until April 15, 2026.
The AFL-CIO and CLC defines a ‘young worker’ as thirty-five or younger. Attendance will be limited to two attendees per Local.
We only have space for 100 attendees, so this conference will sell out.
What else do I need to know?
All U.S. nominees must have a U.S. passport to attend the 2026 IATSE Young Workers Committee Conference (as it’s being held in Canada). If a nominee does not have a U.S. passport, application processing takes 10-13 weeks. If a nominee needs a passport sooner, they can pay for an expedited service ($60) and should expect to receive their passport in 7-9 weeks. Mailing times are not included in the processing times and may take up to 2 weeks for applications to arrive by mail. Therefore, if a nominee does not currently have a U.S. passport, please consider the total time it will take to receive your passport when you are booking travel. To apply for a passport, visit here: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/how-apply.html
Please do not make any travel or lodging arrangements until further notice is posted. Only members who have been nominated and have registered to lock in their spot may attend.
The conference will be conducted in English.
Further information will be provided to local officers as the nomination process continues and the Conference approaches.
For immediate questions about this topic, please reply to this email or contact ywc@iatse.net.
— the IATSE Young Workers Committee
