Welcome to the official website of International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 122.

Local 122 is one of the many Locals of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States its Territories and Canada (IATSE). IATSE represents technicians who proudly serve all aspects of the entertainment industry. Since the birth of our organization over 100 years ago, IATSE stagehands and film technicians have been joined by a great variety of other crafts. Television productions, product demonstration and industrial shows, conventions, facility maintenance, audio visual presentation, motion picture computer graphics, front of house people and managers to name a few have all banded together to achieve the maximum unified strength possible.

Who we are:

Local 122 has specialized in providing well-trained, professional and reliable crews for everything involved with production in Southern California since 1905.  Local 122 technicians are experienced in all technical aspects related to live theater, conventions, trade shows, audio-visual presentations, concerts, film, road tours and local productions. Our superior level of experience, professionalism and commitment to safety will provide you and your production with that much needed comfort of knowing that your show is in good hands and that you are receiving the best value for your labor dollars.

If you are producing or managing a show or venue, and would like the peace of mind of knowing you have the best and most professional technicians Southern California has to offer, please contact us here Hire Us.

If you would like to work in the entertainment and convention industries, please check out Join Us to see how you can become a proud member of our organization. Our Pre-Apprentice and Apprenticeship programs help you become a solid and productive member ready to enter the workforce with all the skills and knowledge you will need to provide our employers with the quality they have come to expect and rely on from Local 122.

Local 122 is member run and is dedicated to the principles of democracy and the basic right of each member to freely express their views and participate in the process that affects their lives daily. These values help to ensure the well-being of everyone on our workforce.  We regularly offer classes in specific fields to help our members advance their skills.

Our Mission

Our mission at Local 122 is to represent all workers in the San Diego, Imperial Counties and Cochella Valley areas, and to work to provide them and their families with benefits that can travel with them from employer to employer. With Union representation, you can change jobs without fear of losing your health insurance, achieve a consistent Retirement and Annuity benefits, two of the basic necessities for achieving and maintaining a good quality of life.

Workers’ Rights

The Federal Government has determined that workers have the right to organize and to bargain collectively and that it is in the best interest of commerce for employers to accept collective bargaining when workers determine that they want it.  The government has also determined that the inequality of bargaining power between unorganized workers and powerful employers tends to cause depression of wages and benefits.  Therefore, the government has protected these rights by the Taft-Harley Act and the National Labor Relations Act.  Workers have the right to elect a union to represent them. Employers cannot legally dismiss a worker for looking into joining a union, for promoting union membership or for belonging to a union.

Benefits

Local 122 members can qualify for the finest medical plans available; coverage includes benefits omitted from many plans, such as pre-natal care, dental and eye care, chiropractors, prescription drugs, life and mental health insurance.

A pension plan for your future.  As soon as you become represented and earn your first dollar, your employer will begin to make contributions into a retirement plan for you for each and every hour that you work. This benefit costs you nothing, and does not come out of your pocket. It is built right into our agreements with our Employers.

As a member, you will also have access to additional benefits. Local 122 is continually developing educational and training programs to keep our members abreast of new technology.  As members of the AFL-CIO, all IATSE members are also eligible to take advantage of a unique programs for a wide variety of goods and services – you can participate in special home mortgage programs and may even be able to receive credit cards in situations where previous credit problems might make it otherwise impossible.

Without Union Representation you are often alone and isolated at the lowest end of the work environment and pay scale. Lacking the means to protect your own self-interests.  No doubt, some of your own personal experiences will confirm that fact. Alone, you have very little negotiating power against an employer who is determined to give you as little as possible. With Union affiliation you are participating in critical decisions that affect your life, such as daily wages, continuing education, medical benefits for your family, holiday pay, vacation, retirement benefits, working conditions. You receive professional representation in the work place. Your participation in these critical decisions is an example of the democratic process is working for you.  Membership participation and democracy are cornerstones of the IATSE. There is strength in numbers, and with tens of thousands of other IATSE workers on your side, you can have control over your future in this industry.