Kingston Musicians Strike of 1922
In 1922, musicians providing scores and accompaniment for theatre productions and motion pictures in Kingston went on strike. Orchestral musicians and theatre managers engaged in a short labour dispute over pay and the number of musicians employed by theatres. Though the strike only lasted about a month, it reflected larger disagreements in the sector at the time over what constituted an orchestra and the value of labour for threatre musicians.
On Friday September 8, 1922, the Kingston Theatre Managers’ Association, representing management at the Grand Opera House, Allen Theatre, and Strand Theatre published an advertisement in The Daily Standard newspaper outlining their dispute with theatre musicians. Addressed to “the theatregoers of Kingston,” theatre managers argued that the local Musicians’ Union would not accept the status-quo employment terms for the upcoming season. The Managers argued their companies were operating under financial stringency and could not agree to terms demanded by the American Federation of Musicians (AFM). In response to the dispute, the theatres decided to show silent dramas instead of motion pictures with live musicians. The events that would unfold over the next month would see the Musicians’ Union organize a strike for increased pay and hiring more musicians for live and motion picture events.
The following day, on September 9, The Daily Standard included an article outlining the specifics of the dispute between the Union and Managers. The newspaper allowed space for both theater managers and workers to state their case. Theatre Managers said that the AFM demanded minimum numbers of musicians for orchestras at the venues, recommending seven at the Grand Opera House and Allen Theater, and five at the Strand Theatre. Managers at the Opera House and Allen agreed to meet with the Union, but management at the Strand said it was impossible for them to pay for more musicians, and they could only afford to employ one piano player. An increase in musicians at the Strand would require the Famous Players Corporation to increase funds to hire more musicians.
The managers noted that on September 4, without notice, piano players withdrew their labour from the theatres at the request of the AFM. Managers were unable to persuade them to return to work while they tried to discuss the matter with the AFM. This was the beginning of the musicians’ strike. The piano player at the Strand had been employed for several years at $35 per week, which they argued was above scale. Management accused the AFM of misleading their membership and not adhering to proper decision-making processes to call a strike. Nonetheless, the musicians all walked off the job. Management argued that there were similar disagreements in 1921 but the parties were able to reach an agreement without labour action. The Union countered, stating that because of financial stringency, the AFM agreed to compromise with managers on wages and the size of orchestras in 1921.
The Union, Local 93 of the AFM, argued that theatres had not been complying with standard wages for years, and the inadequate number of musicians in orchestral ensembles in Kingston was routinely used by theatres in other cities as a benchmark to reduce musician hires and orchestra sizes. The union accused the managers of a breach of faith for gradually diminishing the size of orchestras and the Union would not consent to recognizing one musician as an orchestra. David Carey, Canadian Executive Head of the AFM, came to Kingston to try and broker a deal.
The parties met on Monday September 11 and the Union offered a compromise, dropping the demand for seven musicians at the Grand Opera House and Allen Theatre to five, and moving from five to three players at the Strand Theatre. Managers had two weeks to respond to the AFM offer. The musicians claimed that Kingston is the poorest field for musicians because the pay is smaller than anywhere else in Canada.
The parties were still in a deadlock on September 14 and the theatres hired scab musicians at the Allen and Strand Theatres. The AFM forwarded a request to the International Association of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) to ask for a sympathy strike from stagehands.
The strike was not settled until early October, with The Daily British Whig reporting on October 6 that the musicians were back to work. In the end, the Theatre Managers agreed to hiring five musicians at The Grand Opera House and Allen Theatre, and three musicians at the Strand Theater – the exact number in the AFM’s compromise offer tabled in September. The counter-offer, paired with the pressure of a sympathy strike from the IATSE, was enough for the theatre managers to agree to a deal.
Job action for musicians was not uncommon in the 1920s as strikes also occurred in Europe and the U.S. In Paris, a 13% tax was imposed on cabaret proprietors in 1922, who threatened to shut their doors to protest the tax. This act affected hundreds of jazz musicians who formed unions and committees to protest the tax. There was also a musician strike in New York City in 1921 over wage reductions, and a labour dispute in Poland in 1922 over holidays, pay, and whether musicians were “manual or intellectual workers.”
Sources
- The Daily Standard, 1921-1922
- The Daily British Whig, 1921-1922
- The Weekly British Whig, 1921-1922
- Cover photo: Princess St. 1930. Queen’s University Archives. Digital Collection. V23 Str-Princess-20.