Broadcasting Telecasting (Jan-Mar 1957)

PERSONNEL RELATIONS Musicians, Other Unions Accused Of 'Monopoly Power' in Booklet AMERICAN Federation of Musicians has been accused along with several other unions, if exercising "monopoly power" in a booklet based on a year-long study of unions by a group of 1 1 labor-management specialists. The study group was organized at the suggestion of National Assn. of Mfrs., but NAM noted that "the research and deliberations were conducted and the report written on study group's own independent authority." The booklet referred to a 1943 U. S. government suit against AFM — which alleged Federation violated anti-trust laws by forbidding musicians to make phonograph re MANUFACTURING Radical Tv Set Design Changes Predicted At L. A. Convention WITH the development of the 110-degree tube and the possibility of the fiat or wall tv screen, television sets of "great beauty and utility" were predicted for the near future at the 1957 Industrial Designers' Institute Convention in Los Angeles. Discussing "New Horizons for Television Designers," a panel of eight designers agreed that approaching technological advances will bring "radical design changes" to tv sets. The panel concluded that designers and manufacturers should not sell their products now as "the ultimate of beauty and utility," but rather wait for further technological, material and design advances. Today's tv sets cannot truthfully be tabbed with such epithets, they agreed. Members of the panel at the convention, held last month, were design directors Dan Jensen of Philco, Jim Fleming of Telecron, Herb Zeller of Motorola, John Vassos of RCA, Joe Portanova of Hoffman and Jim Kelso of Packard-Bell, who served as moderator. Others were George Beck, for many years design director of General Electric equipment, and John Hauser, an industrial design consultant. General Precision Laboratory Signs Air Force Contracts TWO CONTRACTS totaling over $4 million have been awarded by the Air Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio, to General Precision Laboratory Inc., Pleasantville, N. Y., a subsidiary of General Precision Equipment Corp. The contracts are for manufacture of electronic control amplifiers and research and development work on advanced airborne navigation systems. The new production contract for the control amplifiers is the second received by the company for the units, a component of GPL's AN/ APN89 Doppler navigation system. Koch Promoted at Dumont STANLEY J. KOCH, director of the Allen B. Dumont Labs Tube Research Division, has been named general manager of the Page 98 • March 11, 1957 cords and electrical transcriptions for radio stations and juke box operators — and also imposed requirement on radio networks to "boycott affiliated stations refusing to meet the union's demands for the hiring of 'standby' musicians." AFM also was cited in booklet for its policy in 1942 of banning phonograph records and electrical transcriptions. The study group found that "phonograph records practically disappeared for three years until union terms for their use were met." Theatrical unions as a group were said to exert power through the practice of "featherbedding." The study group recommended seven proposals to curb "monopoly power" of union, among which was the elimination of "featherbedding." FINALIZING equipment order for increased facilities of WORA-TV Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, including a 25 kw Standard Electronics Amplifier for station's power boost, are (1 to r) Wayne Marcy of Visual Electronics and Alfredo R. de Arellano of Supreme Bcstg. Co. Inc. of Puerto Rico. Tube Divisions, Dumont President David T. Schultz announced last week. The appointment was part of an overall realignment of the firm's tube operations. The Cathode-Ray Tube Div. will become the Television Tube Div., while Tube Research Div. will become the Industrial Tube Div. Succeeding Mr. Koch in the latter will be Joseph P. Gordon, former assistant director. Television Tube Div. will continue to be headed by Alfred Y. Bentley. Md. Firm Ups New Business 500% NEMS-CLARKE, Silver Spring, Md., has booked new business totaling $1,200,000 in the first eight weeks of 1957, an increase of some 500% over the same period last year. A. S. Clarke, president of the electronics firm, said his company recently received orders in excess of a half million dollars from the Civil Aeronautics Administration for electronic instrumentation for the government agency's peripheral and high altitude air ground communications program. L.A. CBS Workers Petition NLRB OFFICE employes of CBS Radio and CBSTV in Hollywood have petitioned the National Labor Relations Board for an election to determine whether the group should continue to be represented by Office Employes International Union or drop union membership. More than 30% signing the petition favor the .latter course. These employes want, one representative said, an employemanagement type representation similar to that in force at CBS-New York, where the pay scale "has overshadowed CBS-L.A. by a wide difference." The plan was set up, he explained, in 1950 when New York workers voted out their office union. MANUFACTURING PEOPLE Jack A. Amsterdam, supervisor of sales promotion, American Electronics Inc., L. A., and Ed Kinney named advertising-sales promotion manager and chief engineer, respectively. R. A. Moe, manager of systems engineering operations on west coast, Government Service Dept., RCA Service Co., to manager of west coast facilities, systems engineering operations. Francis E. Abt, manager of order administration, Allan B. DuMont Labs, to sales coordinator for tv sets, high-fidelity radio and phonograph equipment in sales division. MANUFACTURING SHORTS Sylvania Electric Products, Inc. has declared dividend of 50 cents per share on common stock, payable April 1, 1957, to stockholders of record at close of business March 11. In addition, directors declared regular quarterly dividend of $1 per share on $4 cumulative preferred stock, payable April 1 to stockholders of record March 11. Raytheon Mfg. Co., Waltham, Mass., announces that construction has begun on its 42,000-square foot electronics laboratory in Santa Barbara, Calif. New structure expected to be completed by mid-June and will house about 200 employes of company's government equipment division. Bell & Howell Co. announces new turret camera (Model 252TA) combining threelens feature with Sun Dial operation. Equipped with 10mm Super Comett f/1.9 lens, Monterey model is claimed to possess easy spool-loading, long 10-ft. film run, single frame exposure when needed and continuous run-lock. Suggested list price is $99.95. Audio Devices Inc., Chicago, moves to 5428 Milwaukee Ave. Telephone: Newcastle 1-9580. Cornell-Dubilier Electric Corp., South Plainfield, N. J., announces production of new ultra-high voltage energy-storage capacitors, designed specifically for DC filtering and DC storage for high-energy-discharge circuits. Broadcasting • Telecasting