IATSE-2nd2018_web

Canadian Locals into the Alliance. In addition to Locals 56 and
58, Winnipeg Local 63 was also admitted.
From the beginning, the Canadian Locals were integrally involved
in the affairs of the Alliance. For example, at the 1899 Alliance
Convention, Montreal Local 56 sent a delegate, P.J. Ryan,
who took an active part and helped prepare the report on laws and
resolutions.
However, there was still some lingering opposition within
the Alliance, and concerns about whether Locals admitted from
Canada would be viable and capable of surviving. When Vancouver
applied for admission in 1901, the Executive Board refused
their application because the Local had fewer than the
minimum members required by the Alliance Constitution. The
American Federation of Labor (AFL) intervened and after three
years of internal debate, Local 118 in Vancouver became a fully
legitimate and affiliated local union in 1904.
By 1902, the bias against internationalism was fading. The
delegates to that year’s convention unanimously voted to apply
to the AFL to change its name to the International Alliance of
Theatrical Employees (IATSE). And the next year, Ottawa Local
95 and London Local 105 joined the Alliance rolls.
OPERATING AS A CRAFT UNION
In its formative years, IATSE gave careful consideration to its
place in the nascent North American labor movement. Given the
unique nature of stagehands’ work and the emergence of specialized
crafts, it became apparent that the Alliance’s proper home
was not with the Knights of Labor, but rather with the American
Federation of Labor and its brand of trade unionism focusing on
job security and wages.
At the first convention in 1893, delegates crafted a simple
Constitution, instituted per capita dues and established a minimum
rate of pay. They then went on to set specific conditions for
work based on a strict departmentalization of jobs, established
a standard eight-hour day and perhaps most importantly, abolished
the system of employing actors and other unskilled workers
as carpenters, flypeople and stagehands.
At the second convention, held in Chicago in July 1894, the
delegates rewrote the Constitution and Bylaws to reflect changes
in the industry. They also established a union working card and a
union label. These efforts to establish standards and parameters
for each craft to benefit all members would continue for decades
to come.
HOME RULE
At the 1895 Convention, delegates established the concept
of home rule, which has deeply shaped IATSE ever since. Home
rule was defined as “22 New York theatres for New York local
members, Chicago theatres for Chicago (and so forth). . .and no
other members of Locals allowed to work within the jurisdiction
of other Locals without (their) consent.”
It was also decided that any local union which refused to
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