International projectionist (Jan-Dec 1947)

TRADE UNIONS IN AMERICA (Continued from page 25) of agreements with employers or governmental officials, their policy of refusing to work with non-memoers, and their use of the strike, the collective stoppage of work, as a means of adjusting their grievances when all other methods had tailed. As already referred to, they even struck against the decrees ot the Koman Senate when these were considered too arbitrary or unjust. In the early days of the Roman unions the good fellowship features were well developed. There was feasting in common on numerous occasions. Funeral benefits were an integraf part of most constitutions. There is no evidence of sick benefits, but each union had a committee whose duty was to visit afl sick members. There seems to have been no thought of paying strike benefits. Some unions, after the end of the Republic, assisted slaves who were craftsmen to purchase their freedom trom their owners, the union advancing the price and the treed man repaying the deht in installments. The religious side was a predominant as in the medieval guilds. Each craft union1 had its cult with its patron deity [there were no saints in those days]. Its deity was usually the heathen god whose attributes were nearest to the craft in question. The union also had its special religious festivals, processions and sacrifices. Some of the unions with large membership had their own priests. The inscribed records of the Elder Carpenters of Ptolemias and the Rye Millers of Alexandria each record the employment of their own priest. Without doubt these unions had erected their own altar in the temple, and their priests functioned at these altars. Crafts Active Politically It was in the meetings of these unions when constitutions and by-laws were being prepared or amended, when the welfare of the craft was being discussed or when the officers were being elected, that the membership learned the practical lessons of self-government which prepared them to later play a prominent part in government during the Republic. Gains informs us that the law of the CLAYTON BALL-BEARING EVEN TENSION TAKE-UPS For all projectors and sound equipments All take-ups wind film on 2, 4 and 5 inch hub reels. Silent Chain Drives THE CLAYTON REWINDER For perfect rewinding on 2000-foot reels. CLAYTON PRODUCTS CO. 31-45 Tibbett Avenue New York 63, N. Y. Twelve Tables, the basic law of the Kingdom, "allowed members of an association to make any by-laws they pleased provided they do not infringe any public law." There is ample evidence that the crafts in time became politically active, but there are few specific instances recorded. A municipal election was to be held in Pompeii about a month after Vesuvius overwhelmed that city with volcanic sand, ashes and lava. As the ruins were excavated in the modern times, a number of political posters were found on the city's walls and buildings, some put on with brush and paint, some with chalk or charcoal. Two of these definitely indicate their character. One reads: "The members of the Fishermen's Union make choice of (nominate) Popodius Rufus for member of the public works." The other was phrased in a more mandatory tone : "The International Goldworkers Association of the City of Pompeii demand for member of the board of public works Cuspis Pansa." The unions' political activities without doubt played a part in their relations with the Senate. During most of the republican period much of the public work was done by the crafts under direct contract with the Senate. There were no intervening contractors between the Senate and the unions. The public treasurer made payments from time to time to the officers of the union, who in turn distributed the money to the membership. As the patricians grew in power, and conquest brought slaves and prisoners to Rome, members of the nobility hired or bought them from the state. They were able to secure contracts for public works from the Senate. Then began what ended in a destructive competition for many of the craft unions. [To be Continued] hiL STRONG COPPER OXIDE AND TUBE TYPE RECTIFIERS The modern means of converting A.C. to DC. as an ideal power supply for projection arc lamps. Low original, operating and maintenance costs. Quiet operation. Distributed through leading independent theatre supply dealers. THE STRONG ELECTRIC CORP. 87 City Park Ave., Toledo 2, Ohio The World's Largest Manufacturer of Projection Arc Lamps 30 INTERNATIONAL PROJECTIONIST January 1947