IATSE-2nd2018_web

away in the dead of night, leaving them to walk the rails back
home. Wages were cut arbitrarily and discriminatory practices
were common.
Many road shows employed non-union crews, paying them
little and forcing them to work long hours. When strikes took
place, there was always a conflict between the local membership,
the road stagehands, and unscrupulous workers who would
come from other cities to break the strike.
However, out of these challenges came opportunities.
When traveling stagehands were left stranded in distant locations,
they turned lemons into lemonade, working to bring
local workers into the Alliance. These early organizing efforts
spread the word about what union representation could to do
improve stagehands’ lives.
And in 1912, at the 20th Convention, IATSE established the
first blanket contract for road workers guaranteeing theirtransportation
home as well as two weeks’ pay for shows that suddenly
closed. At the same time, District No. 1, composed of Locals
in the Northwest, created a system which allowed road workers
to send basic information, such as the size of the crew and the
length of time they would be needed, on to the next destination.
This ensured that not only that there would be enough people to
staff each theater, but that they would be union crews.
This system worked so well that the International adopted
it a few years later. It continues today as the Yellow Card system.
THE ALLIANCE’S GOVERNANCE MATURES
Without an international headquarters and with a rapidly
rotating series of Presidents, who had only been paid since 1906,
IATSE sought to expand its authority and centralize its operations.
At the 1909 Convention, delegates approved the creation of
seven districts which would each be responsible for winning fair
wages and working conditions in the theaters in their respective
regions. These District Councils ended up being very important in
fighting for the workers’ rights. The theaters were often owned by
the same manager or chains, without the Councils, it would have
been difficult to confront these chains and win equitable wage increases
for the many local unions which operated in the area.
At the next year’s Convention, after long and heated
arguments on the floor, the delegates gave the President and
Executive Board the authority to levy fines and other penalties.
In 1913, delegates voted to move from annual to biennial
conventions. Our modern-day conventions follow the same
traditions as these early ones, addressing challenges, identifying
opportunities, enacting legislation, and hearing and
resolving complaints and appeals. That same year, IATSE established
its international headquarters in New York City and
required that the President and General Secretary-Treasurer
live and work there. At last, the Alliance had leaders with genuine
authority to conduct the business of the union.
But this did not mean smooth sailing. Initially, the Executive
Board was composed of the President and four “at-large” Vice
Presidents, which inevitably led to regional conflicts among the
Locals. The Alliance tried establishing Eastern and Western Executive
Boards, but when this failed to succeed, they settled on a
board composed of the President, regional Vice Presidents, and
the General Secretary-Treasurer.
The President was given very broad powers, including the
authority during an emergency to suspend the laws of IATSE
and any local unions as long as he obtained unanimous consent
of the General Executive Board.
Throughout these early years, IATSE membership rose rapidly,
from 1,500 in 1893 to 3,700 in 1900 and more than 21,000
members in 1920. The number of
local unions also grew at a speedy
pace, first in the cities and later in
the more remote areas.
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