IATSE Takes Swipe At J.D. Vance After Philadelphia Rally Gaffe

IATSE has taken a swipe at Donald Trump’s vice presidential running mate, J.D. Vance, for the stage setup on his latest campaign stop.

“Here’s why you should hire union stagehands and stage designers,” the below-the-line crew union wrote in an X post on Tuesday, alongside the image of Vance giving a speech in Philadelphia.

Behind him, a looming sign reads “Kamala Chaos,” which has become one of several recent Republican campaign slogans targeting Vice President Kamala Harris. However, with people standing in front of the sign, only her first name is visible, leading some on social media to point out that at first glance it appears that Vance is campaigning for Harris instead of against her.

In the tweet, IATSE claims that Vance and his team did not, in fact, hire union workers for the event.

In a follow-up tweet, IATSE also called Trump “dangerously anti-worker and anti-union,” pointing to a 2004 incident where he crossed a picket line while working on The Apprentice.

IATSE was the first of the Hollywood unions to endorse Harris for President, after Joe Biden dropped out of the race. In a statement last month, the union called Biden’s administration “the most pro-union administration in history” and acknowledged that Harris “has played a pivotal role in delivering landmark policies and legislation to benefit IATSE workers.”

Since then, she has also received support from the Writers Guild of America West, which said in a recent statement that they believe Harris will “protect labor rights, create good jobs, promote competition and protect workers’ pensions.”

She and her running mate Tim Walz have also earned the endorsement of the United Farm Workers, the hospitality workers’ union, American Federation of Teachers, United Automobile Workers, and AFL-CIO.

Considering her work over the last four years, it makes sense that Harris would receive rather swift backing from most of the country’s labor unions. But, this election cycle has been a bit of a mixed bag, as IATSE’s vocal support comes after Teamsters International President Sean O’Brien drew backlash for giving a speech at the Republic National Convention.

At the time, he refrained from giving any endorsement, instead preaching that “the Teamsters are here to say we are not beholden to anyone or any party.” The convention occurred prior to Biden bowing out, and the Teamsters recently announced voting had begun for rank-and-file members to weigh in on an official endorsement from the union.