Chicago---flight engineers strike 2-20-1961 (Frank Koza Collection)

"Chicago---flight engineers strike. O'Hare, Midway scenes, interview Sayen ALPA pres. 2-20-61" (16mm, B&W, silent/sound, Frank Koza Collection) The (mostly silent) outtakes captured here primarily depict footage of Midway airport during a Flight Engineers' Strike in 1961, which resulted in the cancellation of a majority of flights. Begins with wide shots of the facade of a very wide, rectangular office building with a marquee reading "AIR LINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION INTL.” Cut to: an American Airlines eagle insignia placard on an interior airport wall — the camera tilts down to reveal a single piece of luggage on a platform. A few people are milling about inside the airport terminal, and an information kiosk shows that all departing flights "CANCELLED." The next scene captures footage of planes bearing the TWA logo on the tarmac. Young female agents for Avis and Hertz are shown sitting at adjacent desks inside the terminal; neither has any customers to attend to. In the next sequence, sound can be heard on the film. There is a close up of Clarence Sayen, President, Airline Pilots Association, being grilled by the press. Sayen tells reporters that he does not support the engineers' strike, that the engineers' union are propagandists, that the strike is illegal, and that their claims are false. Sayen then tells the reporters that he does not support the "illegal strike," and that he would prefer that the Pilots' Union represent all flight crew members, rather than having separate Pilots' and Engineers' Unions. More info: https://collections.chicagofilmarchiv...