The Cine Technician (1953-1956)

April 1954 THE CINE-TECHNICIAN 57 On Tuesday afternoon, 23rd March, a full meeting of the Laboratory Committee was held; punctually at 3 p.m. Alf Cooper took his place in the Chair — and was immediately ejected! Nothing more sinister than the fact that the Ministry of Labour wanted to talk to A.C.T.'s representatives; so with George Elvin, Frank Fuller and Charlie Wheeler, Alf had to leave — but not before giving a brief address on the importance of getting solidarity from trade unionists in other industries. They returned from the Ministry with news of the decision to set up the Committee of Investigation. The good old days of the Humphries strike of 1947 was the topic of conversation when Joe Bremson, ex-Humphries now on the production side, went to see his mate Joe Ferrari, on picket in Whitfield Street. Joe Ferrari was, of course, telling jokes to the other pickets, Miss M. Jackson (Office), Miss J. Packer (Office) and J. Shorer (Rushes), and when he had a particularly fruity one, he pulled the men out of earshot of the girts. Wonderful tales, recounted — and acted — with the rich skill for which Joe Ferrari is renowned. It was chilly weather, but there couldn't have been a happier picket anywhere. More lonely was the Denlab picket, made up of volunteers, but here the reported attempts of the management to keep a stiff upper lip caused the laughter : it is said that while one boss spent three hours puzzling out the intricacies of the switchboard, another was proceeding to blow himself up in an effort to light the boiler! GET 'EM BACK OR I'LL BLOW MY BRAINS OUT! Drawing by Derek Meddings Not one A.C.T. member at Denlabs had crossed the picket lines, except for those who went in with the full permission of the Denlab Committee — a cashier to make out the pay for those away sick, and the works police. Incidentally, it was an expoliceman, Jim Cooper, who was in charge of the picket. Outside the entrance they had two posters : NEGOTIATION BEFORE ARBITRATION, and THE EMPLOYERS SAID WE ACHIEVED THE IMPOSSIBLE DURING THE CORONATION. BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE ASK FOR A RISE? WE GET THE SACK. Derek Meddings, of the Titles Dept., had worked like a Trojan to paint these posters, as well as many others used on the London demonstration at the Technicolor shareholders' meeting. At " The Vines " in Hillingdon, where the Denlab Lock-Out Committee met, Mrs. Kath Peters from the Office Staff did the paper work, and a Finance Committee under Jim Bartlett collected £50 in voluntary donations from the members for fellow workers who were in distress. Chairman Peter Webbe and Jim Cooper went along to see Councillor Tom Parker in Uxbridge to get the dispute written up in the local Co-op broadsheet, and Joe Lawrence attended the annual meeting of his local Labour Party to tell them of A.C.T.'s battle. Ron Woodham with his motor bike and side-car was everywhere, carrying urgent messages and doing the odd chores. The statement in the trade papers that lab technicians took £4-£5 a week home in overtime was denied by John Brown, Shop Steward of Henderson's : on the film treatment side there was only spasmodic overtime, amounting to not more than ten shillings to a pound a week, while he in the drying dept. and the 35mm. printers had done none at all since last October, even though they did all Warner's black-and-white release printing. All 23 A.C.T. members at Henderson's were out, and four times a day they all massed with the other pickets on duty to greet the non-Union blacklegs. Placards announced : WE'RE OUT BUT NOT DOWN, NEGOTIATION BEFORE ARBITRATION, and THIS AFTER 25 YEARS' SERVICE. This last slogan referred in particular to Cecil Fennel, exShop Steward and A.C.T. pioneer, who has worked 25 years at Henderson's, and Len Dowsett, of Chemical Treatment, who has been there 27 years. John Brown made certain that this grand display by the smallest lab in the dispute was noted by the local press, and got a photographer from the Croydon Advertiser & Times along to record their confident demonstration. At the Community Centre, Boreham Wood, the Pathe Elstree Committee was just going to hold a meeting, but by special request business was delayed so that members could hear the Lincoln Handicap on the radio. Then back to the agenda. Being A.C.T.'s Treasurer. Shop Steward Stan Warbey realised the importance of funds from outside to help in the fight, and the Pathe Elstree Committee had been preparing to circularise all local trade union branches appealing for support and had contacted the local Trades Council to assist them in this. Every one of the A.C.T. members were out, and because they were a small shop the pickets there did a whole morning or afternoon on duty, and this included the seven girls in the firm. Stan Warbey had instituted a rota book at the Community Centre, in which all items of news and reports from the pickets were recorded, so that anyone coming in on duty could learn at a glance exactly what had happened.