Jurisdictional disputes in the motion-picture Industry : hearings before a special subcommittee of the Committee on Education and Labor, House of Representatives, Eightieth Congress, first-session, pursuant to H. Res. 111 (1948)

126 MOTION-PICTURE JURISDICTIONAL DISPUTES Mr. McCann. I have a straight telegram of February 26, 1945. Pat Casey, Hollywood, Calif.: We have waited patiently for 1 week for the producers to comply with the War Labor Board order. Unless we receive an appointment to commerce negotiating this week by 6 p. m. tonight, we will be forced to report at our membership meeting that the producers are ignoring the War Labor Board order and that we are free to take such economic action as we see fit. Herb Sobrell, President, Conference of Studio Unions. [Straight wire] April 2, 1945. (Sent to attached list of unions.) Members of your union have refused to report for work and perform their services since March 12. If the members of your union persist in refusing to report and perform their services by April 4, we shall be compelled to engage men from other available sources to do the work required to keep our studios in operation, which we are determined to do. You are, of course, aware that the strike by local 1421 was declared without the sanction and against the orders of Mr. Liudelof, the international president of the brotherhood of painters ; that the War Labor Board has characterized it as a flagrant disregard of the procedure established for the peaceful settlement of labor disputes and has ordered that it be immediately terminated ; and that the strike was officially disavowed by William Green, president of the American Federation of Labor, who also called upon Mr. Sorrell to terminate the unjustified woi"k stoppage immediately ; and that this strike is being carried on in direct violation of the no-strike pledge of the American Federation of Labor. You must also be aware that the producers are the victims of a jurisdictional quarrel between various American Federation of Labor unions and that the producers are powerless to settle this dispute. After the many years of cooperative association with you and your organization we deeply regret the necessity of such action. However, you leave us no alternative. Columbia Pictures Corp. ; Samuel Goldwin ; Loew's Inc. ; Paramount Pictures, Inc. ; RKO-Radio Pictures, Inc. ; Republic Productions, Inc. ; Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp. ; Universal Pictures Co. ; Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. April 2, 1945. The attached straight wire (report delivery) sent to the following: Screen set designers, local 1421, 9441 Wilshire Boulevard, Beverly Hills, Calif. (Omitted: words "to do the work required".) Society of Interior Decorators, 541 Stassi Lane, Santa Monica, Calif. (Substituted: "society' instead of "union" ; omitted words "to do the work required".) International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, 1200 Fifteenth Street NW., Washington, D. C. (Word inserted: "electrical.") Local 40 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, 1509 North Vine Street, Hollywood 28, Calif. Word inserted : "electrical.") Local 644 of the Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators and Paperhangers of America, 1457 West Fifth Street, Los Angeles 5, Calif. (Word inserted: "painters"; omitted: sentence beginning "After the many years.") Local 946 of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, 5164 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles, Calif. ( Inserted : word "carpentry". ) United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters, Ninth and Mount Vernon Place NW., Washington, D. C. (Inserted: word "plumbers"; omitted: sentence beginning "After the many years.") Local 78 of the United Association of Plumbers and Steamfitters, 540 Maple Avenue, Room 208, Los Angeles 18, Calif. (Inserted: word "plumbers.") Lodge No. 1185 of the International Association of Machinists, 1627 North Cahuenga, Hollywood 28, Calif. (Inserted: word "machinists.") International Association of Machinists, Ninth Street and Mount Vernon Place NW., Washington, D. C. (Inserted: word "machinists.")