National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians, Local 15 Records
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Abstract
NABET, Local 15 was organized in 1965 by television and film production craft workers. The union's increasing work on feature films in the 1970s caused an explosion in the membership rolls. Competition that developed in the late 1980s between the International Association of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) and NABET led to the revocation of Local 15's charter in 1990. The Local's membership voted to join IATSE, and were then admitted to various IATSE locals. The records include the Local 15 charter and by-laws, correspondence of officers, minutes of meetings and conferences, various subject files and photographs.
Historical/Biographical Note
NABET Local 15 received its organizing charter in 1965, and the charter was reissued in 1968. In a union predominantly organized around the television industry, Local 15 was one of only three NABET locals devoted to film craftsmen. NABET Local 15 had its origins in the 1940s when the Association of Documentary Film Cameramen (ADFC) organized an independent union. In the late-1940s, the National Association of Broadcast Engineers (NABE), a Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) member union, approached the ADFC and issued them a charter. At that time the name was changed to the Association of Documentary and Television Film Craftsmen (ADTFC) to accommodate the expanding craft categories covered under the NABE union umbrella. The ADTFC organized film crews working on low budget and television films. These were areas not organized by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Moving Picture Operators (IATSE), which was affiliated with the American Federation of Labor (AFL). In 1954, most of the 700 members of ADFTC joined the various IATSE locals. Those members who remained with the ADFTC formed a new union affiliated with the CIO's National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians (NABET). When the AFL and the CIO merged in 1955, IATSE and NABET remained separate entities.
With the increasing number of television commercials, series and feature productions in the early 1960s, workers previously unorganized by IATSE, were now organized by NABET, Local 15, known as the Association of Film Craftsmen. This new local, formed on September 19, 1965, would organize all the craft positions under one contract. The Local felt that this would be a more effective negotiating strategy for workers on low-budget productions. This policy encouraged Local 15's members to work in more than one craft in any area of production.
By the early 1970s, Local 15 expanded as its members increasingly worked on more feature films. Regional offices opened throughout the country, from Boston to Miami to San Francisco. In the late 1980s, NABET, Local 15 set up a meeting with officials of IATSE to discuss a possible merger. Soon after, the NABET international accused Local 15 of trying to secede. The international brought charges against Local 15, which subsequently went to court in an attempt to retain its member status as a NABET local. It lost the case, and the international revoked its charter in 1990. Local 15's membership voted to join IATSE, and was admitted to various locals of that union in October 1990.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically within each series. The files are grouped into five series:
Series I: Bylaws and Constitution, 1966-1988.
Series II: Minutes, 1965-1990.
Series III: Correspondence, 1970-1990.
Series IV: General Files, 1960-1990.
Series V: Photographs, 1969-1989.
Arranged alphabetically within each series.
The files are grouped into four series:
Missing Title
- I, By-laws and Constitution
- II, Minutes
- III, Correspondence
- IV, General Files
Scope and Content Note
With the exception of a 1953 ADTFC rulebook, the records begin in 1966. They include minutes, by-laws, officers' files, members' correspondence, occupational safety and health concerns, scripts and legal files. Individual replies to a membership survey carried out in 1985 can be found grouped together at the end of the General Files, in Box 9. Taken as a whole, NABET Local 15's files shed light on the transformation of the film industry brought about by the introduction of video technology, and labor's response to that transformation.
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Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection, created by the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians (NABET), Local 15 was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date; National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians (NABET), Local 15 Records; WAG 076; box number; folder number;
Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012, New York University Libraries.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians, Local 15, in 1990. The accession numbers associated with this gift are 1990.009 and 1990.010.
Also donated by the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians, 2001. The accession numbers associated with this gift are 2001.042 and 2001.050.
Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures
Audiovisual materials have not been preserved and may not be available to researchers. Materials not yet digitized will need to have access copies made before they can be used. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu, (212) 998-2630 with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Photographs separated from this collection during processing were established as a separate collection, the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians, Local 15 Photographs (PHOTOS 181). In 2014, the photograph collection was reincorporated into the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians, Local 15 Records (WAG 076).