International projectionist (Oct 1931-Sept 1933)

Record Details:

Something wrong or inaccurate about this page? Let us Know!

Thanks for helping us continually improve the quality of the Lantern search engine for all of our users! We have millions of scanned pages, so user reports are incredibly helpful for us to identify places where we can improve and update the metadata.

Please describe the issue below, and click "Submit" to send your comments to our team! If you'd prefer, you can also send us an email to mhdl@commarts.wisc.edu with your comments.




We use Optical Character Recognition (OCR) during our scanning and processing workflow to make the content of each page searchable. You can view the automatically generated text below as well as copy and paste individual pieces of text to quote in your own work.

Text recognition is never 100% accurate. Many parts of the scanned page may not be reflected in the OCR text output, including: images, page layout, certain fonts or handwriting.

NRA AND WHAT IT MEANS TO THE PROJECTIONIST James J. Finn NUMEROUS requests for information reflect the interest of projectionists throughout the United States in the probable effect of the National Recovery Act upon wages and conditions in the projection field. Most of the inquiries received by International Projectionist indicate a complete misunderstanding of the true purpose of NRA — what it is, what it seeks to accomplish, and how various sections of the Act will be administered so as to make possible a full realization of the objectives sought after. The objectives of NRA are as clearcut as a good diamond should be : the essential purpose of the Act is to shorten hours of work so as to spread employment and to insure the payment of a minimum wage which will enable even the unskilled worker to live decently and to buy a few things oyer and above the bare necessities of life. Insofar as those much-discussed "fair competition" sections of the Act are concerned, it can safely be assumed that the NRA does not permit the placing of a governmental stamp of approval on any set of "fair practices" within an industry that has not first provided for fair practices for its workers. The core of the Act is the labor section, an excerpt from which follows : Sec. 7. (a) Every code of fair competition, agreement, and license approved, prescribed, or irsued under this title shall contain the following conditions: (1) That employees shall have the right to organize and bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and shall be free from the interference, restraint, or coercion of employers of labor, or their agents, in the designation of such representatives or in self-organization or in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection : (2) that no employee and no one seeking employment shall be required as a condition of employment to join any company union or to refrain from joining, organizing, or assisting a labor organization of his own choosing : and (3) that employers shall comply with the maximum hours of labor, minimum rates of pay, and other conditions of employment, approved or prescribed by the President. (c) Where no such mutual agreement has been approved by the President he may investigate the labor practices, policies, wages, hours of labor, and conditions of employment in such trade or industry or subdivision thereof ; and upon the basis of such investigations, and after such hearings as the President finds advisable, he is authorized to prescribe a limited code of fair competition fixing such maximum hours of labor, minimum rates of pay, and other conditions of employment in the trade or industry or subdivision thereof investigated as he finds to be necessary to effectuate the policy of this title, which shall have the same effect as a code of fair competition approved by the President under subsection (a) of section 3. The President may differentiate according to experience and skill of the employees affected and according to the locality of employment ; but no attempt shall be made to introduce any classification according to the nature of the work involved which might tend to set a maximum as well as a minimum wage. The foregoing sections are the National Recovery Act — so much so that when NRA was gathering steam some weeks ago its deputy administrators acted more like organizers for the American Federation of Labor than Federal officials. With the formulation of the automobile code, this stiffnecked attitude in favor of Labor was modified somewhat, and at present it looks very much as though Labor will have to fight for every advantage it gains. ''Company Unions" The; latest manifestation of American industrial genius is the appearance of the "company union," despite the fact that the labor sections of the NRA included in this article specifically outlaw such organizations. A case in point now exists in New York where Vi'ithin the past three weeks an exhibitor organization has formed an operators group, obviously in the futile hope that this "union" would be recognized at the code hearings. What will NRA mean to me ? is the ciuestion uppermost in projectionists' minds. The answer is, as I see it, that NRA will mean the establishment of a maximum work week for projectionists, a minimum wage scale for a given work week, and the setting vip of a plan which will have for its object the clearing of the benches of unemployed in certain Locals. This last-named objective may provide a knotty problem for more than one locality where there exist large numbers of unemployed. Simple, one might say; but the answer is not as simple as it looks. A maximum work week and a minimum wage are of little importance in considering a code for projectionists. Wages and conditions always have been the answer to projectionist security, and this answer holds doubly true at this time. One-man vs. twomen shifts looms up as the basis for a sizzling fight in Washington at the code hearings. A high wage and a poor condition (such as one-man shifts), means nothing to projection Labor Section of Proposed Code Maximum Hours of Employment in Connection With Theatre Operation Ten (10) days after approval of this Code by the President : No person under sixteen (16) years of age shall be employed. No employee of any department shall work for more than fifty-two (52) hours in one week. The maximum hours prescribed in the foregoing paragraph shall not apply to contract labor, to professional person^ employed in their professions, or to employees in a managerial or supervisory capacity. Whenever it may be necessary because of an emergency, overtime and extra shifts beyond the limitations herein set forth shall be permitted. Classifications of Employees Employees shall be classified as follows : Class No. 1 — Operators. Class No. 2 — Stage Hands. Class No. 3 — ^Musicians. Class No. 4 — Ticket sellers, doormen, apprentices and office help. Class No. 5 — ^Ushers, office boys, cleaners, matrons watchmen and attendants. Class No. 6 — Other employees such as electricians and carpenters (not stage hands) painters, show card writers, sign painters. Class No. 7 — Professional persons and persons in managerial, executive or supervisory capacities. Minimum Wages Classes No. 1-2-3 — Contract labor. These classes are matters for local autonomy and no minimum is fixed for them other than 40 cents per hour as prescribed in the President's agreement for mechanical employees. Class No. 4 — 25 cents per hour in towns or cities having a population of 250,000 or less ; 30 cents per hour in cities having a population between 250,000 and 500,000, and 35 cents per hour in cities having a population in excess of 500,000. Class No. 5 — 25 cents per hour. Class No. 6 — This class shall be paid at hourly rates prevailing in the community in which the theater is located, provided, however, no less than 40 cents per hour shall be paid. Class No. 7 — The foregoing hours shall not apply to persons embraced in this class. [24]