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Author Topic: Projectionist aka ... Thomas Procyk Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1842 From: Royal Palm Beach, FL, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 06-27-2004 12:29 AM                     The title really doesn't matter. I'm called a Projectionist, I call myself a Projectionist, but no one really has an official title where I work, except managers. I'm the only projectionist who does not work floor shifts. I made this clear from the get-go. I don't mind helping out downstairs, cleaning theaters, stocking concession, helping managers... IF there isn't work to be done upstairs, but I WILL NOT work an ENTIRE shift downstairs. I didn't spend six years gaining experience, improving my presentation, reading manuals, and talking to fine people like yourselves to be forced to stand and rip tickets for eight hours. Question: What's to stop the Usher-B's from forming a union? Or the Concession-B's or the other Worker-B's? I swear to Jim Cavizel, if someone were to call me an Usher-B, I would from that point on call them Manager-X or Supervisor-Q. =TMP=  |  IP: Logged Dustin Mitchell Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1865 From: Mondovi, WI, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 06-27-2004 02:17 AM                     Tom's hit the nail on the head, just because the company calls them usher-b's or whatever doesn't mean they can't unionize. As far as I know the only employment group that can't unionize is managers and apparantly (from reading past posts on this site) there are exceptions even to that. Even if the supposed 'exceptions' don't apply just calling somebody a 'booth manager' doesn't make them a manager in the eyes of the law. As I stated in the 'Union Projectionists' thread over in FHF if you don't have the supervisory powers outlined by state and federal law that would categorize you as a manager then you aren't a manager not matter what your company says. The whole usher-b/booth usher thing is only part of the method by which the big chains were/are trying to keep the union out. You see anyone can start a union drive at their place of employement. Once an organization drive starts things are basically frozen until the vote is taken to unionize or not to unionize. Most policies can't be changed, numbers of hours and types of shifts the employees involved in the organizing effort are geting can't be drasticaly changed, etc. A good example would be a company that is facing a highly organized union drive with large amounts of printed material be handed out to employees. The company might decide to attempt to counter this by starting their own 'newsletter.' Under current rules (if I remember the particular lecture in Labor Law Relations correctly) the company can't do this because they didn't have an established newsletter before the union drive began. So lets fast forward and say the union drive was successful, all of Cinemark's usher-b's are now IATSE (or whatever union they joined up with, whouldn't necessarily have to be the IATSE after all) members. Changing their job class and duties would be illegal because that would amount to discrimination based soley on the fact that they unionized. But what IS their job? Well, if you look up their job title in th employee handbook-a very important legal document for any company by the way-you can bet that there is no mention of usher-b's running projectors. If there is perhaps it is only in passing saying they may help managers during particularily busy times. In any event, running the booth is NOT their primary job responsibility. Thus it would be perfectly legal for the Big Chain to schedule them exclusively on the floor, cleaning theatres, ripping tickets, etc. So ends theory. In practice many of the chains have had to face the reality in recent years that manager run booths in 12 plexes and up are usually not workable. I'm no labor law expert but I'm willing to bet there would be a good chance a union could argue in court that although its newest members official job was one thing for all practicle purposes they were projectionist and were then being discriminated against in scheduling due to their new union status.  |  IP: Logged Gordon McLeod Film God Posts: 9532 From: Toronto Ontario Canada Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-27-2004 09:26 AM                     Actually even IATSE is ignoring "operators" as it is nolonger IATSE and "moving picture operators" but International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians,Artists and Allied Crafts of the United State, its territorries and Canada of interestis the efforts of cooperation between IATSE and BECTU in the UK  |  IP: Logged Ron Lacheur Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 650 From: British Columbia, Canada Registered: Feb 2002 posted 06-27-2004 10:59 AM                     It looks like the IA has switched their efforts towards film production now. [ 06-27-2004, 04:50 PM: Message edited by: Ron Lacheur ]  |  IP: Logged Dean Kollet Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 591 From: Florida State University Registered: Jul 2003 posted 06-28-2004 10:31 AM                     At work I'm called a booth usher, Even though 3/4 of the people call us projectionists. I love what I do enough to be called and paid as a Booth Usher. If someone asks me what I do, I tell them I'm a projectionist. I'm proud to say I'm a projectionist, and I worked my ass off to learn everything so that I could say I am.  |  IP: Logged David Ingalsbe Film Handler Posts: 31 From: Eagan, MN, USA Registered: May 2004 posted 06-28-2004 04:02 PM                     wow, Ok I have to watch what I say. I wish that I had it that easy. I am a booth manager so in adition to being the unofficial head projectionist I also have to help do things like counts and drains. With the summer sesion I get to spend more time in the booth preping projectors for things like spiderman 2 but this only seems to be because of problems that always pop up when the big movies hit. I don't really care what my title is as long as i get to have the time to do my job.  |  IP: Logged Emma Tomiak Expert Film Handler Posts: 238 From: Carrollton, TX, USA Registered: Aug 2003 posted 06-28-2004 08:52 PM                        I am an "Hourly Assistant Manager". Basically, a projectionist and a floor supervisor combined.  |  IP: Logged Dominic Espinosa Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1172 From: California, U.S.A. Registered: Jan 2004 posted 06-29-2004 03:27 AM                     I have been an usher, an usher-booth, a head projectionist, and currently a booth manager. Although the manager part doesn't really seem to matter, no one listens to me. Probalby because I'm a jovial smart-ass 80% of the time My "titles" have included: projectionist the nerd from upstairs and more recently "dom-dizzle" But I know, deep down...I'm Dom the increadible projectionist geek-man!  |  IP: Logged Alan Dallas Film Handler Posts: 48 From: Prescott Valley, AZ Registered: Jul 2004 posted 07-07-2004 08:14 AM                     It's very muttled these days thats for sure. At Harkins Theatre's it's laid out like this. Projectionists are called Assistant Managers. There are 4 'levels' of Assistant Managers. Or AM1 thru 4. A starting AM is trained in Booth Management. We're effectivly just a Projectionist but eventually we're trained in all areas of theatre management. Hence the other levels. Staff is more flexible that way. Floor staff aren't even allowed in our booth without being accompanied by a Manager.  |  IP: Logged Robert DeLoss Marken Film Handler Posts: 11 From: stockbridge, ga, usa Registered: May 2004 posted 07-07-2004 09:28 AM                     Hi! Years ago, late 40's - early 50's, when I was a full time "projectionist", our union name was "Motion Picture Machine Operators". The motto was: anyone can operate a moving picture machine but it takes a professional to put on a show. Bob Marken  |  IP: Logged Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 07-09-2004 11:01 AM                       quote: Ron Lacheur It looks like the IA has switched their efforts towards film production now. Yeah, where they can better line their pockets, since they fed the projectionists to the wolves. Scumbags! They let the theatres phase projectionists out, they let them! And that didn't have to happen. C'mon! There's at least one professional job in every 14-plex, and probably five or six. The IA really dropped the ball, the bums.  |  IP: Logged Christian Volpi Master Film Handler Posts: 349 From: Arlington, NE Registered: Apr 2004 posted 07-16-2004 02:25 PM                        I'm the sweaty guy up in the booth.  |  IP: Logged Steven Jantzen Film Handler Posts: 30 From: goodwell, Oklahoma, USA Registered: Jul 2004 posted 07-28-2004 10:05 PM                     I don't work for a union, my theatre is independant, and as well, it's small by most standards (8 plex compared to 24 plex??? ) I do know this how ever. When I started in the theatre business, i worked down on the floor, in concessions, box office, and tearing tickets. I remember always looking up at the booth as a..... place i would never be able to reach, a goal as high as mount olympus. Now that i'm up here, I AM A PROJECTIONIST . You can bs your freinds, and i'll BS mine, but lets not BS each other. A spade is a spade, and a projectionist is a projectionist. They keep this up, the next thing you know, there gonna call cart pushers at wal-mart something like "customer mercendise transportation engineer" WTF? I don't see why there should be any debate. Call 'em by there name, not anything else. legalities aside.  |  IP: Logged

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