The below-the-line union, which has about 125,000 members, cited “her long record of fighting for workers’ rights and working families.”
IATSE’s general executive board voted unanimously to endorse the former U.S. Secretary of State on Monday.
Thursday, January 14, 2016
IATSE Endorses Hillary Clinton for President
The below-the-line union, which has about 125,000 members, cited “her long record of fighting for workers’ rights and working families.”
IATSE’s general executive board voted unanimously to endorse the former U.S. Secretary of State on Monday.
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3 comments:
I was surprised by this headline because I guess I had not given much thought to if IATSE endorses presidential candidates. It makes sense, though, since many unions do endorse candidates who support their views and concerns. I wonder if IATSE considered endorsing Bernie Sanders, since I know that he is well supported by many unions across the country and well liked by much of what is considered America’s “working class.” It was definitely very considerate of Hillary Clinton to reach out to IATSE – this was definitely a very smart move for her, especially since she was the only candidate to do so. Clinton definitely has a pretty savvy team working for her, and it will be interesting to see what plays out between her and Sanders, who has been making leaps and bounds through the polls, first catching and now passing Clinton, as the article mentions. It is also interesting that IATSE has historically supported Democrats – this makes sense though, since the theatre industry is quite different from the big-businesses that many Republicans side with.
I was somewhat shocked when I saw this. I did not expect for a group that represents to many people who probably have a very wide range of political opinions to stand with a specific candidate. I realize that the executives made the decision but I can only assume that some people in IATSE who do not personally stand with Clinton might feel alienated or falsely represented by this public support. I asked Sean about this and as a member of IATSE he did not seem bothered by the announcement whether he has the same views or not, and I am sure there are a lot like him.
I also think it is very cool that Clinton responded to this announcement. I know IATSE is very large but it is still not well known enough to be a big gain for a candidate and I think it is cool that they are noticed. I am not a member of IATSE but as someone who is studying to do IATSE stuff it is cool to be recognized.
This was totally surprising to me but also really, really cool. Sometimes it is really hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that the theatre world is a part of the "real" world. I think it's probably because of the way we spend our time, playing make believe and entering new worlds with different standards. Our priorities, our schedules, our understanding of the way theatre and the roles we play in it work all contribute to, in my mind at least, a totally different mental situation. So when I think of who we are in the grand scheme of things, or how we look to other people, or people like Hillary Clinton recognizing the work we do, I get totally confused and a little bit starstruck. It's like "Woah, presidential candidates know who we are and what we do?" It seems obvious, but it almost feels like a celebrity sat down to talk with my brother or cousin or something. I'm not voting for Hillary, but I do think this is a really great thing that she and IATSE have connected.
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