UPDATE: The IATSE General Executive Board this afternoon unanimously named Matthew Loeb to be president after today’s retirement of Tom Short. (See my previous, TOLDJA! Tom Short Retires From IATSE.)

According to the IATSE announcement, Loeb said, “I enter into the position of International President with the deepest sense of obligation to the members, who number better than 111,000, and their families. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Tom Short who made desperately needed institutional changes that will allow me to continue to build on a solid foundation. We are well positioned to meet the challenges of the future. I remain convinced that the interests of IATSE members are best protected when we use all of the resources gained through the unity and coordination of our locals and members throughout the United States and Canada.”

The press release goes on to say: Loeb is credited with devising and implementing an aggressive organizing and bargaining strategy under the leadership of President Emeritus Short. The policies laid the foundation for obtaining more than 1,000 term agreements in motion pictures, television, music videos, and commercials, and the chartering of numerous new local unions adding thousands of new members to the union. Loeb has been a member of the United Scenic Artists Local 829 since 1989, a member of Local 52 since 1996, and is a Charter Member of Local 491 (established in 1994). He became an International Representative in June, 1994.

Loeb was also the IATSE’s first Division Director of Motion Picture and Television Production, appointed to that position upon the restructuring of the Alliance and the establishment of divisions. He was elected by the General Executive Board to the position of International Vice President in February 2002 and at the 65th Convention in 2005. In addition, he served as Chairman of the East Coast Council for better than 14 years.

The IATSE is an International Union that represents members employed in the stagecraft, motion picture and television production, and trade shows industries throughout the United States, its Territories, and Canada.