The Union

We were still in the industrial park location when we built and sent out three sets for Fox News - two to New York and one to Washington, DC. I, of course, didn't go, but those who did - including Mack - were picketed by IATSE because we were not a union shop. Not long after, Mack called us all into a meeting. "How many of you would like to join the union?" About four people raised their hands. "How many would NOT like to join the union?" about fifteen people raised their hands. The meeting was adjourned until about two weeks later when he called us all to another meeting and said, "We're joining the union." It was March in the Ocoee building when we were sworn in and issued our union card and "Backstage Handbook." I joined for two reasons: first and foremost, by the deal negotiated with the Business Agent, it was free for us to join; Second, if the other guys were going to be voting on stuff that affected me, I wanted a vote. In fact, I did vote a couple of times.
Being in the union meant that, during the busy busy times, F/X could call the hall and get some really high priced incompetent help with highfallutin' attitudes. Not all of them were incompetent, of course, but most of them were not scenic carpenters. "Carpenter" in IATSE terms means that you know how to use a screw gun. After a while we got to know which ones to ask for and which ones NOT to ask for - but we still had to take what we got.
So I was a member in good standing with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts for eight years. The only time it has come in handy since leaving Orlando was the two-day stint I did when F/X brought a news set to a TV station in Albuquerque while we were there. The local help assumed that I was still in the union, especially because I wore my old F/X tee shirts with the IATSE bug on the sleeve both days. Good thing they didn't ask to see my card!