Business Manager Doyle reported in December that unemployment was still hanging over Local 103 and hoped that 1938 may finally bring full employment. A world-wide decline in economic output makes it clear that worldwide depression is underway and is causing violent overthrows in Europe, purges in Russia and expansionism in Japan. Early in 1938, President Roosevelt requests increased appropriations for building up the armed forces, particularly the Navy. This will spur construction of the Boston naval shipyards in East Boston, Charlestown, Weymouth, and Hingham, as well as the Watertown Arsenal, much the same as in 1915 when the threat of World War I spurred full employment.

Depression has hardened members of Local 103 to unsuredness of steady employment in construction and many member choose the opportunities for work in the more stable industrial plants, newspapers, power stations, and Boston Elevated Railway. Former Business Manager Joe Murphy has a crew installing an automatic block signal system from Park Street under westward on the Elevated Railway. At the Everett shops, Brother Garibaldi is foreman of a crew rewiring street cars. Brother Bill Mullen is foreman of the crew involved in wiring the trains lighting, door signals, door motors, heating and signal lights.

Brother John Crapo heads the construction crew who install and maintain ventilation fans, lifts, drainage pumps, mechanical and electrical fare boxes and station lighting. The Boston Elevated Railway make their own power and a crew from Local 103 maintain and erect new power stations. This maintenance of the generating stations is the work of Local 103 men in accordance with the IBEW Constitution in that the stations are on private property of the Elevated Railway and falls within the jurisdiction of the inside wireman classification of Local 103. Later this work is taken over by members of Local 103 (outside classification) and becomes a real bone of contention in separating inside and outside jurisdictions.

Since 1926, Brother Bernard Noonan and his crew have been maintaining and erecting new equipment at the Boston Garden. Among his crew are William McInerney, Joe Casey, and many members who have been trained to operate the direct-current carbon-arc lamps used for spotlights when shows are in the Boston Garden and Boston Arena.

Local 103 has separate contracts with the big three Boston newspapers for maintenance of the presses. There are also separate contracts for maintainace of the arsenals, shipyards, and army base. An agreement will soon be agreed to for the Bostion Housing Authority on completion of the Old Harbor Housing Project, and with projects for other parts of Boston in the works.

It appears that Business Manager William Doyle and Business Agent Edward Carroll may have been extremely busy writing language for these agreements outside the construction industry, but I saw the original agreement Local 103 had with Walter Brown and Lou Pieri covering the men employed at the Boston Garden. It was handwritten on cheap letterhead, had yellowed considerably, and was dog-eared from frequent perusal. Basically involved with wages and hours, the agreement also spelled out jurisdiction between electricians and stagehands. Boston Garden is the only building in the country where carbon-arc lamps are operated by electricians. Originally, the electrician was the only one who knew the operation, trimming and maintenance of the formidable trooper lamps. Henceforth, the stagehand, who learned the operation from the electrician, felt an obligation to split the jobs with Local 103 men, even involving the operation of the house lights and sound. This agreement was still in force through the 1960s. And none of the three parties felt a need to change it, except in the area of wages and hours. I suppose the other agreements for maintenance in the housing and newspapers were nearly the same.

And most importantly, it was not necessary to have lawyers present or have actuaries approve them. They were not legal documents, but in those days, a hand-clasp was the only seal necessary between parties.