Montana labor news., 1936-12-17
PICTURE OPERATORS ASK SCHOOL BOARD TO FOLLOW CERTAIN
PLANS IN ERECTING AUDITORIUM AT The new HIGH SCHOOL
international Alliance of Theatrical
Stage Employees and Moving Pic
ture Machine Operators of United
States and Canada

ture Machine Operators OF united
States and Canada
Local No. 81
Butte, Montana, December IA, 1886
Editor, Montana Labor News,
Butte, Mont.
Dear Sir & Bro:
On account of a difference of opin-
ion which exists at the present time
between the Butte Stage Employees
and Moving Picture Machine Oper-
ators Union, Local "a, and the Board
of trustees of school district No. l,
we believe that it is to the best in
terests of the taxpayers of the dis
trict that the light of publicity be
played upon the activities of the
present board. Our differences per-
tain to the construction and equip
ping of the stage and picture booth
at the new high school, which is at
present under construction.
While we do not set ourselves up
as experts on general construction,
we claim that we do know what the
general plan of a stage or picture
booth should be. Our knowledge of
stage and booth construction was not
acquired wholly from textbooks, but
was obtained and added to through
experience of many years. Many of
our members have as high as 80
years experience working on and
rigging stages, and installation and
operation of the equipment in pic
ture booths.
Consequently when plans for the
new high school were submitted to
the school board for their approval,
a communication from our organiza-
ton was sent to the school board
rendering the services of a commit
tee from our organization, gratis; for
the purpose of going over that por-
ton of the plans with them which
pertained to the construction of the
stage and booth of the new audi
orium. We were assured that a
meeting would be arranged between
the board, the architect and our COM
mittee; and the plans gone over, SO
that any ideas tending toward more
practical and convenient construc-
ton of stage and booth could be
taken care of with no cost to the
district at that time.
Our organization patiently waited
for a reply to Jul communication
and finally instructed the committee
to contact the building committee OF
the school board. This the commit
tee did, and at the meeting the plans
were gone over and our committee
was quick to see that the architect
had made a fragrant and unneces-
sary blunder in the plans of the
stage. The error was called to the
attention of the building committee
and they assured us that the matter
would be Immediately taken up with
the architect and a meeting would
be arranged between us. So far nc
meeting has been called, although
the best portion of a year has
elapsed. Our committee has contact
ed every member of the school board
and called attention to the blunder
which the architect has made; ano
on every instance we have been as
sured that the matter would be taken
care of and a meeting arranged. Sc
far nothing has been done by the
school board to rectify the architects
error Building on the stage portion
of the auditorium has progressed SC
far that it would cost thousands Of
dollars to make construction of the
stage both practical and safe. We
do not understand the boards ap-
parent attitude or for the
safety of the persons who use the
stage, or for the expenditure of the
taxpayers money. 1t was this at.
titude of unconcern which brought
about the recent accident at the Ana.
conda high school in which the bach
of a young lady student was broken
In as much as the work on the
stage and booth at the new high
school will be done by members O.
our organization, we r concerned
in the safe and sanitary construction
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