IATSE Local One | 1,506 followers on LinkedIn. In 1863 the first stage employees' organization was named the Theatrical Workman's Council and then became the Theatrical Mechanical Association in 1865 when it incorporated under New York State law. This was encouraged by Abraham Lincoln being elected president of the United States with the votes of the working class. When a flat dropped on acclaimed actor Louis James during Hamlet's soliloquy, the actor retired to his dressing room and informed management that he would not return to the stage until the professional stagehands were reinstated.