How IATSE Hiring Halls Are Modernizing Dispatch in 2026

For decades, filling calls at IATSE locals meant the same thing: a dispatcher working the phones, flipping through notes, and manually tracking who's up next on the list. It worked. But it was slow, error-prone, and completely dependent on one person holding everything together in their head.

That era is ending.

The hiring halls that are pulling ahead in 2026 have figured out how to fill calls faster, keep their members informed, and stay 100% compliant with their own union rules. And they're doing it without burning out their dispatchers or fielding constant grievances about who got what call.

Here's what modern IATSE dispatch actually looks like.

The Dispatch Problem Every Hiring Hall Knows Too Well

If you've worked in a hiring hall, you know the drill.

A call comes in for 15 stagehands tomorrow morning. Now you're on the phone for the next two hours, working down the list, leaving voicemails, waiting for callbacks, tracking who said yes and who didn't answer. By the time the call is filled, you've burned half your day on a single show.

And that's when things go smoothly.

The real problems start when seniority gets tracked in spreadsheets that don't get updated consistently. When members don't know where they stand on the dispatch list. When someone claims they should have gotten a call but didn't, and now you're digging through handwritten notes trying to reconstruct what happened.

The busier your local gets, the more these cracks show. Peak season doesn't just mean more work. It means more mistakes, more complaints, and more stress on the people trying to hold it all together.

What "Compliant" Actually Means for Union Scheduling

Here's the thing about IATSE locals: every hall is different.

Some calculate seniority based on hours worked. Others use tenure. Some use a combination of factors that's been refined over years of negotiations and member input. Some locals offer shifts to full members first, then permits, then general crew. Others have skill-specific dispatch lists for departments like rigging or wardrobe.

These aren't arbitrary preferences. They're the rules your membership agreed to. They're what makes dispatch fair and transparent. And they're exactly what generic scheduling software doesn't understand.

Most "crew scheduling" tools on the market were built for gig workers or corporate shift work. They can tell you who's available. They can't tell you who should get the call first based on your local's specific seniority formula, membership status, and skill qualifications.

That's the gap Roosted was built to fill.

Roosted is designed to enforce your rules automatically. Not a simplified version of your rules. Not a "close enough" approximation. Your actual bylaws, encoded into the system so that every call goes out correctly, every time.

That means:

Custom seniority formulas. Whether your local calculates seniority by hours worked, tenure, or a weighted combination of factors, Roosted handles it. The dispatch list stays current in real-time based on your specific criteria.

Member-first priority. If your rules say active members get first shot before permits or general crew, the system enforces that automatically. Shifts get offered in the correct order without a dispatcher having to manually check status.

Skill and certification requirements. Riggers get rigging calls. Wardrobe gets wardrobe calls. If a shift requires specific qualifications, only qualified members see it.

Permit and non-member handling. However your local structures access for non-members, Roosted can match it. The system adapts to your bylaws, not the other way around.

Automation That Follows the Rules (Not Around Them)

Automation gets a bad reputation in union environments, and honestly, it's often deserved. Too many tools promise to "streamline" dispatch by cutting corners that shouldn't be cut.

Roosted takes a different approach. The automation doesn't replace your rules. It enforces them more consistently than any manual process ever could.

Automated sorting. Your dispatch list updates in real-time as members work shifts, accumulate hours, and move up or down based on your seniority criteria. No more quarterly spreadsheet updates that are already stale by the time they're published.

Priority sequencing. When a call needs to be filled, the system sends offers in the correct order based on your priority rules. Members first, then permits, then general. Automatically. Even if the call comes in at 2am.

Seniority-based offers. No more flipping through lists to figure out who's next. The system knows. It sends the offer to the right person, waits for a response, and moves to the next in line if they decline or don't respond in time.

Skill matching. If a call requires specific skills or certifications, only members who meet those requirements receive the offer. No more mismatches. No more showing up to find out you're not qualified for the position.

Complete audit trail. Every offer sent, every acceptance, every decline, every non-response. It's all logged with timestamps. If a member has a question about why they didn't get a call, you can pull up exactly what happened. Grievances become easier to resolve because the documentation is automatic and comprehensive.

Why Members Actually Like It

Dispatch software isn't just for dispatchers. The best systems make life better for members too.

With Roosted, members can check their seniority ranking anytime. They don't have to call the hall or wait for a quarterly update. They open the app or log into their browser and see exactly where they stand.

That transparency changes everything.

When members can see their ranking, they stop wondering if the system is fair. They can verify that offers are going out in the correct order. They know that if they didn't get a call, it's because someone above them on the list got it first.

No more "I didn't get the call" disputes based on suspicion. The system shows exactly what happened.

Members can also update their own availability through the app. If they're out of town, on another show, or just need a day off, they mark themselves unavailable and the system skips them without any back-and-forth with the dispatcher. When they're ready to work again, they flip it back on.

This self-service capability cuts down on phone calls to the hall and means fewer missed opportunities because someone couldn't reach the dispatcher in time to update their status.

Filling Calls in Minutes, Not Hours

Remember that 15-stagehand call that used to eat half your day?

With automated sequences, it fills itself.

Here's how it works: A call comes in. You enter the details—date, time, location, positions needed, any skill requirements. The system takes over from there.

Text messages go out to qualified members in seniority order. As members accept, the roster fills. If someone declines or doesn't respond within your specified window, the system moves to the next person automatically. You can watch the roster fill in real-time, but you don't have to babysit it.

By the time you're back from lunch, the call is filled. The members are confirmed. And you didn't make a single phone call.

Before each show, check-in bots reach out to confirmed members and ask them to verify they're still coming. Just like checking in for a flight. This gives you accurate attendance forecasts hours before call time. If someone drops, you know early enough to find a replacement without scrambling.

What used to require constant attention now happens in the background. Dispatchers get their time back for the work that actually requires human judgment.

Built for How Hiring Halls Actually Operate

Roosted isn't a generic calendar tool with union features bolted on as an afterthought.

It was designed around the way hiring halls actually work. The dispatch list is central. Seniority rules are configurable. Call structures match how union shows get staffed.

That means it handles the complex scenarios that trip up generic software:

Same-day calls. When a show needs bodies today, the system can blast qualified, available members simultaneously rather than working sequentially down the list. You set the rules for when this exception applies.

Split shifts and complex call structures. Multi-day shows, staggered call times, different positions with different requirements. Roosted handles the complexity without forcing you into a simplified workflow.

Department-specific dispatch. If your local maintains separate dispatch lists for rigging, wardrobe, or other specialties, Roosted supports that structure. Each department can have its own seniority calculations and priority rules.

Payroll integration. When the show wraps, Roosted generates formatted reports that flow into your payroll process. Wage calculations, hours tracking, benefits data. Whatever your hall needs, the system can produce it in a clean, standardized format.

The Bottom Line for Business Agents and Dispatchers

Modernizing dispatch isn't about replacing the people who run hiring halls. It's about giving them better tools so they can focus on what matters.

Less time on the phone means more time for member services, employer relationships, and the strategic work that actually grows your local.

Fewer grievances because the system enforces rules consistently. When every offer is documented and every decision follows the same logic, there's less room for accusations of favoritism or mistakes.

Scalability that doesn't break your process. Busy seasons used to mean chaos. Now they just mean more calls going through the same reliable system.

And members who trust the process because they can see it working. Transparency builds confidence. Confidence builds a stronger local.

Ready to See How It Works With Your Rules?

Every IATSE local is different. Your seniority calculations, your priority structures, your departmental rules—they're specific to your hall and your membership.

Roosted is built to adapt to those specifics, not the other way around.

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