IATSE union traveling card issued to Sidney Fishman: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Traveling card issued to Sidney Fishman for his membership in the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Moving Picture Machine Operators of the United States and Canada (IATSE) for the year 1982. The pink paper card notes that Fishman was a member of local union number I. A. and is signed by Fishman, union president Walter F. Diehl, and secretary James J. Riley.

Sidney Fishman worked as a property manager for theatrical productions in New York and other theaters throughout the Northeast United States from the 1950s to the 1980s. The IATSE, now operating under the full name International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories and Canada, is the primary labor union for craftspeople who work in a variety of positions behind the scenes in live theatre, motion picture and television production, and trade shows in the United States and Canada. The union's history dates to 1893, when representatives of stagehands from eleven different US cities formed the National Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees to negotiate and protect wages and working conditions in the industry. In 1998 the union's name was changed to its current iteration and five departments were established: Stagecraft, Motion Picture and Television Production, Organizing, Trade Show and Display Work, and Canadian Affairs.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1981
• used date: 1982
• user: Fishman, Steve
• maker: International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Moving Pictures Operators
• Object Name: union card
• Physical Description: paper (overall material)
• Physical Description: printed (overall production method/technique)
• Measurements: overall: 2 1/2 in x 3 1/2 in; 6.35 cm x 8.89 cm
• place made: United States: New York, New York City
• Subject: Theater
• Subject: Labor Unions
• ID Number: 2021.0185.02
• accession number: 2021.0185
• catalog number: 2021.0185.02
• Credit Line: Donated in memory of Sybil and Sidney (Steve) Fishman
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.