The Cine Technician (1943 - 1945)

96 T HE CINE-TEC II N I C I A N September— October, I'M Edited by Fred J. Hyson LAB. TOPICS Greetings from G.F.D. Popped down to the " Push " the other day and renewed acquaintance with two old friends, Pro. George Edwards, Shop Steward of Film Labs., and Bro. Jack (leering, Shop Steward of G.F.D. Labs. George was full of praise for the way G.F.D. had received evacuated Film Lab. technicians. Jack sends the following note: "We at G.F.D. are glad that a page is allocated in the Journal for exclusive lab. topics, and hope that we soon know something of what is happening in other labs. As for G.F.D., we are doing our share in the evacuation scheme, for when Film Labs, were bombed out. we received them with open arms. When they arrived on the Monday they brought their newsreel with them ! More work for us. Still, they were 100% A.C.T. so we cheered up and got stuck into it, and they are a cheery crowd so we are getting along well together. There are one or two on the (I. I'M), stall who are not yet in the union, but maybe they will come along when the new agreement conies into force." Support for New Deal Those lab. technicians who did not attend the A.G.M. must have pinched themselves to see if they were still alive when they read the report of the eleventh A.G.M. and saw with what concern the studio personnel viewed the wages they received at present. It must have given them new hope and added determination to read of sueh unanimous support vouchsafed at the A.G.M. To our brothei-s and sisters in the studios we say thank you! And when our new agreement is served up we shall welcome your generous help. The Young Idea For some months pasl a special committee set ii|) by the labs, have been delving into the problem of trainees. This is one of the most perplexing questions to be settled in the industry, and I am sure that the lab. technicians as a whole appreciate the time and thought given to this problem by the committee. At present verj little attention is given to a youngster entering the labs, and months can elapse before he even knows what film realh is. Lor a youngster to become efficient he has to be made interested, and the manifold processes necessary before Ling Crosbj can be seen and heard at the local cinema would, 1 am convinced, amuse the interest and enthusiasm of any youngster. To many boys film is just a roll of stuff to be carried around in a tin. like a of catsmeat — instead of a miracle of our age. Our American Buddies I have had the following wage rates handed to me by an American technician. The rateappended below, he tells me. are the minimum rates paid over a year ago. so it is quite conceivable that they are higher now. The differi between East and West ('oast labs, is in tin process of being levelled up. the East Coast up to the West Coast level. And all rates apply n trade printing labs. Studio labs get much higher rates. Another point is that all labs are clos shops, which is without question the governing factor in obtaining decent wage rates. Most technicians over there specialise in one job only, this rule is very rigidly enforced. Even allowing for a higher cost of living in the States, the v rates have no comparison to our wages. Pre-war a 36-hour week was worked, but now a 40-hcur 5-day week is the rule. WAGE RATES East Coast lies/ Coast £ s. d. I' s. d. Printer 9 17 G 18 10 ii Dryer 11 0 0 12 10 (i Posit ive 1 teveloper .. 12 10 ii 12 10 n Negative 1 )eveloper.. 12 Ki (i 14 II 0 Positive Assembly ... M 5 ii 12 10 o Negative Assembly. . 10 In ii 18 LO 0 Negative Cutter ... 12 i) ii 15 o 11 Grader 20 0 0 27 to 31 10 5 11 0 Assistant Grader ... 8 f> 0 Assistant Control ... 9 10 11 Viewer 11 II II 13 0 11 Tin Carrier i lit II 12 Ki 0 ( Ihemical Mixer 9 .) 0 12 in 0 Vault Keeper 11 0 0 12 10 0 Minimum rate 7 10 o 12 10 ii Double time is paid 'in holidays and Sundays. in some labs time-and-a-half is paid for Saturday mornings and then double time thereafter. Timeand-a-half is the general rate of overtime pay. \ Charge Hand receives 10% over the highest and a Foreman or Department Chiet gets 20 above the highest rate. From my talks I gathered that although the cost of Hiring is higher, the standard ot livin definitely higher than that of English technician