Short answer: It's up to the local's bylaws. The IATSE Constitution (70th edition, 2025) requires officers to be elected by secret ballot every three years and names no method (Art. Nineteen, Sec. 4). Local bylaws need the International President's approval before adoption.
| Verdict | Method left to local bylaws |
| Ratification / strike votes | Method left to local bylaws |
| Confidence | Medium |
| Last verified | 21 October 2026 |
What the text says
How local officer elections are run
"Affiliated local unions of this Alliance shall, once every three (3) years, elect by secret ballot such officers as are necessary for the proper administration of their respective Local affairs, and these officers shall be responsible to their respective local unions and to the Alliance for the faithful performance of the duties assigned them."
"Any member in good standing shall be eligible to be a delegate to any Convention of the Alliance provided they are chosen by the membership of their local union on a secret ballot vote, or if the Local's Constitution and Bylaws so provides, are accredited by virtue of their having been elected to office in the Local in accordance with United States federal law..."
International approval of local bylaws or election rules
"Home Rule is granted to all affiliated local unions of this Alliance and this shall be construed to confer upon each local union the authority to exercise full and complete control over its own affairs; provided, however, that no local union shall take any actions or adopt any laws which conflict with any portion of this Constitution and Bylaws."
"The affiliated local unions of this Alliance may adopt individual Constitutions and Bylaws for their own government, but such laws or any proposed amendments thereto must be submitted to the International President for approval before adoption. No constitutional provision or bylaw shall be adopted by any affiliated local union without such approval by the International President."
Contract ratification and strike votes
"Members of West Coast Studio local unions shall ratify the Basic Agreement by secret ballot. Members of Studio Mechanic local unions, as well as local unions covered by the Area Standards Agreement (ASA), shall ratify the ASA by secret ballot."
Open questions
The International text requires only a triennial 'secret ballot' for local officers (and 'secret ballot' for Basic Agreement/ASA ratification) without naming any balloting method; local constitutions/bylaws that would set the method require prior International President approval (Art. Nineteen, Sec. 3). The ratification verdict is by analogy only: the text names no method and does not expressly assign the choice to local bylaws.
Context
- LMRDA (private-sector) union; constitution also covers Canadian locals, which LMRDA does not reach.
- The 70th Edition (2025 Convention) was read from a local-union-hosted copy; iatse.net could not be reached (HTTP 403), so the copy could not be checked against the International's own posting.
The federal rules still apply
Federal law sits on top of every constitution. For unions covered by the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA), officer elections must meet Title IV's secret-ballot, notice and observer requirements however members vote. The Department of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) addresses remote electronic voting in its Compliance Tip Electing Union Officers Using Remote Electronic Voting Systems (updated December 10, 2024). The Tip describes safeguards for secrecy, observation and records, says it "does not offer unions safe harbor," and says each system is evaluated case by case. Federal-sector unions follow 29 CFR Part 458, which applies the same standards; postal unions are covered by the LMRDA. Locals made up entirely of state or local government employees are generally outside Title IV and follow state law and their own rules. OLMS Compliance Tip
Sources
- Constitution and Bylaws of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, its Territories and Canada (70th Edition) — Adopted by the Seventieth Convention, Honolulu, Hawai'i, July 28 - August 1, 2025 (copy posted by IATSE Local 892, Costume Designers Guild; iatse.net returned HTTP 403 to both curl and headless Chromium). https://costumedesignersguild.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/70th%20Edition%20IATSE%20C%26BL.pdf (accessed 2026-10-21)
- Constitution and Bylaws of the IATSE (69th Edition, comparison only) — Adopted by the Sixty-Ninth Convention, virtually held, July 27-29, 2021 (copy posted by IATSE Local 839, The Animation Guild). https://animationguild.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/IATSE-69th-Edition-CBL.pdf (accessed 2026-10-21)
Not verified: Searched the full 70th Edition text for electron/internet/online/telephon/remote/digital/computer/web/machine/mail ballot/referendum: no hits concern local officer elections or ratification votes (hits relate to craft jurisdiction, the Official Bulletin, GEB mail votes, International referenda, and Convention voting machines used by the Election Board). No IATSE International local-election manual was found. iatse.net blocked all automated access (curl, WebFetch, headless Chromium all HTTP 403). The DOL OLMS disclosure site could be reached only via curl, and its search API returned server errors, so no OLMS copy was obtained. 69th vs 70th edition comparison: the ASA ratification sentence is new in the 70th edition; no change to Art. Nineteen Secs. 3-4 language was observed in keyword comparison.
This page summarizes the published text of a union's governing documents. It is not legal advice and not an official interpretation by the union. Constitutions change at conventions, and locals' own bylaws matter. Confirm with your International and your counsel before changing how members vote. Spotted an error or a newer edition? Tell us at info@votem.com and we'll correct it.
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