The History of Local 640 IATSE
Local 640's charter was founded on September 1, 1926,originally covering Nassau County.By 1937,Suffolk County was added to the Local's jurisdiction. During this time,it was a tedious task to organize,and what made it tougher was getting recognition by others.But the founders of this local never gave up,and they laid the foundation,which has weathered many a storm.Back then,single screen moviehouses dotted the Island,as well as the popular drive-in movie.The projection equipment was operated manually by us,highly trained professionals.Carbon-arc lamphouses,nitrocellulose film,curtain raises and closes,and many changeovers were performed by us.We also had reel boys and sound engineers in the booth.Gradually,over the years,nitrocellulose gave way to tri-acetate film,a much safer and non-flammable film,carbon-arc gave way to xenon bulbs,platters replaced reels,slide shows with advertising and movie tidbits replaced the curtain in front of the screen,and with automation,all this paved the way for the twin,triplex,quad,and the multiplex.Mono sound yielded to Dolby stereo,which also expanded to Dolby Digital,SDDS,and DTS.The reel boy job became obsolete,and sound engineers as well.Throughout all this,our members learned all the new stuff,and kept giving their best as expected.Today,very few single houses exist on Long Island,and the drive in no longer exists here as well.Digital projection has entered the field now in our jurisdiction.We have adapted well to these changes,and despite the good and bad times for our Local,we will continue to evolve...as well as survive.

Life as a projectionist
The job of a projectionist can either be an easy one or a difficult one.While it looks simple enough,you must know all aspects of the booth,its equipment,making up and breaking down prints,what to do in an emergency,etc...It involves a lot of hours of training,short and long days in a booth,as well as virtual isolation from the outside world...This job is not suited for everyone.If you subtract time from sleeping,you will spend more time in a booth than at home.Only if you are seriously dedicated to learning this craft and employment,will you be accepted into our ranks. There is an iniation fee for joining,and other union dues to be paid,but in return,you are getting paid well to perform your craft.

Interested in becomin g a projectionist? We are currently not taking on any new hires,but click here to send an email for future considerations!
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Link to the International's headquarters:
www.iatse-intl.org