posted 03-16-2005 05:00 PM                    

quote: Jeffry L. Johnson

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At some locations our pictures are posted.

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quote:

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the print would be put in the projector backwards, causing subtitles to be reversed

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posted 03-19-2005 11:36 AM                       

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Skilled trades painfully fade to black
Technology puts the squeeze on workers, cities
Saturday, March 19, 2005
Chris Seper
Plain Dealer Reporter

Neil Klepetko first felt like an endangered species 15 years ago.

That's when his film projectionists union started suggesting he learn something new. The movie industry was changing, they said, and someday a single person would be able to do the work it took dozens to do.

That day is here -- not only for folks like Klepetko, but for other workers as well. Innovation and an emerging service-oriented economy have put Cleveland's principles in a crucible.

The projectionists' plight and labor issues like those surrounding Wal-Mart highlight the squeeze on both workers and the city, say local economists, union officials and workers feeling the crunch.

Technological advances have eroded better-paid trade jobs, making some talents obsolete.

And city leaders seem more likely than ever to break with their traditional union allies to lure jobs, even if they don't pay much.

"A lot of things . . . might be a second-best choice, like a non-unionized Wal-Mart and casino gambling," said Barbara Sherman-Rolleston, an economics professor at Baldwin-Wallace College. "But over time people's attitudes begin to change. They see other places doing it and see it as the wave of the future."

A half-century ago, film projection work was as complex as it was daring. A pair of workers would staff metal booths, deftly rotating projectors in mid-film as one ran out and the another started rolling. Sometimes, they were forced to flee when nitrate film ignited, spewing flames and toxic fumes.

But in today's air-conditioned projection rooms, giant silver platters benignly churn Hollywood hits. Some movies arrive on hard drives that slip into computerized projectors.

Multiplexes that used to need two dozen projectionists to manage their films now rely on only two. Plus, many theaters can train ushers to work alongside the traditionally better-paid projectionists.

Cleveland Cinemas, host of the Cleveland International Film Festival, consolidated projectionist jobs and gave the responsibility to nonunion employees. That triggered a protest by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 160, which represents a dwindling number of projectionists: 50 today compared to 160 in 1982.

Sour economies have union strongholds like Cleveland particularly under siege, said Andy Welki, an assistant economics professor at John Carroll University. Labor's influence continues to wane since so many businesses can easily take jobs to other cities and states - and in some cases, countries - with fewer labor regulations.

Recent political back-and-forth over Wal-Mart moving into the near West Side highlights developers' leverage over the city and its work force, economists said.

Cleveland Mayor Jane Campbell wants Wal-Mart executives to reconsider abandoning a store in Steelyard Commons, the new retail development near Ohio 176. Wal-Mart announced earlier this month that it wouldn't open there. Wal-Mart is one of the state's largest employers, yet it is also criticized for low pay that pushes many workers onto state safety-net programs.

But when it comes to retail development, many businesses won't move into a neighborhood unless a larger retailer steps in first, Welki said. So cities need Wal-Mart-like anchors in new developments.

"You need Wal-Mart more than Wal-Mart needs you," Welki said.

Jun Koo, an assistant professor in the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University, said lower-paid service jobs are the only short-term option for a region "too seriously behind to make such a smooth transition from a traditional manufacturing economy to a knowledge economy."

"Some people criticize this approach because these are usually low-paying jobs," Koo wrote in an e-mail. "However, you have to consider that, for many Clevelanders who lost their jobs, the option might be either no job or low-paying jobs unless a serious retraining process is involved.

"When you are sick, you need to take some pain killers," he said, noting, however, that "we can't take pain killers forever."

Projectionists have seen the writing on the wall for some time. The union's national office for years has said workers should learn more about the movie houses where they worked. It spent money to retrain projectionists on cutting-edge equipment.

Fifteen years ago when Klepetko was first warned, the union talked about learning HVAC - better known as heating, ventilation and air conditioning.

"I didn't even know what HVAC was," Klepetko said. "I had to look it up."

But soon after that he opened Neil's Refrigeration. He now services some of the theaters where he works as a projectionist and does some janitorial work.

"You've got to become the most valuable guy in the theater," Klepetko said. "Or else they may not need you."

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posted 03-26-2005 09:40 PM                    

quote: Richard May

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It's a different business now compared to years ago.

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