Local 80 Scholarship Grant 2025


In 2025, Local 80 is offering scholarship grants up to $3,000.

These grants are for the legal dependents of Local Eighty members in good standing (by March 1st) who:

      1. Will be attending an accredited vocational school, college, or university in the next twenty-four (24) months.
      2. Have applied to, been accepted at, or are currently enrolled in their first year of continuing education at an accredited vocational school, college, or university
      3. Have not previously received a Local Eighty scholarship grant


Please read the rules for submissions down below thoroughly, as criteria has changed for this year’s award.  Any fraud or plagiarism will result in immediate disqualification.  Your completed original content must be submitted to the address listed below postmarked no later than March 1st, 2025.  The scholarships are awarded for the spring semester and will be disbursed as quickly as possible after the committee has determined the awardees.

All applicants will have a choice to watch one out of three movie choices and create original content surrounding the themes of “Unionism” present in the film.

Applicants may write an original essay with a minimum of thousand words after viewing one of the films, or the applicant may submit an original song, or video in place of the essay.  In all manner of submissions, the applicant and Local 80 member’s identity MUST remain anonymous to the committee to maintain fairness.  (No identifying information about the applicant or their relation to Local 80 member including likeness)

This year’s union-centric film choices are as follows:

  • “Norma Rae” – The film follows Norma Rae Webster, a factory worker with little formal education in North Carolina who, after she and her co-workers’ health are compromised due to poor working conditions, becomes involved in trade union activities at the textile factory where she works.
  • “Matewan” – The film is a historical drama set in 1920s West Virginia, depicting the tense conflict between coal miners and the powerful mining company as they attempt to unionize, culminating in the violent “Battle of Matewan” where a labor organizer, Joe Kenehan, arrives in the small town to unite the miners against the company’s brutal tactics, leading to a deadly confrontation with the company’s private guards, highlighting the struggles of working class people fighting for their rights amidst oppressive conditions.
  • “Harlan County U.S.A.” – The film is an Academy Award-winning documentary that follows a 13-month long coal miner’s strike in Harlan County, Kentucky, capturing the harsh realities of poverty and the violent struggle between miners fighting for better working conditions and the powerful coal companies, as tensions escalate to include confrontations with strikebreakers and ultimately, the tragic death of a protester, highlighting the community’s desperation for a fair living amidst dangerous working environments.

  When composing the original content, please try to focus on the unionism.  How was organized labor treated in the movie?  What did you learn in school about unions?  How has a union affected you and your family’s life?  Use the movie as a starting point, then expand from there.

Do not write a review of the film.  We are looking for your original thoughts and reflections on the movie and what this movie means to you.

Your content must be anonymous, and both race and gender neutral.  If your identity (or the identity of your relative in Local Eighty) can be deduced from your submission, it will be disqualified.  The content will be judged on your understanding of the film, how well you are able to communicate your opinion of the film and your defense of those opinions.


We look forward to receiving your original content.


The deadline for filing all required material is, March 1st, 2025


Mail Submissions to :

Scholarship Committee IATSE Local 80

2520 W. Olive Avenue #200

Burbank, CA 91505-4529


Email Submissions (with .pdf or .word doc attached) to:

[email protected]