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)

248 MOTION-PICTURE JURISDICTIONAL DISPUTES disagree with anything we had said, or doubted it, to speak up. We were not challenged on any point. As a matter of fact, I think Mr. Sorrell's words in regard to the other unions was that in a fight you will do a lot of things. The one challenge we did get was from Sorrell in regard to the conversation with the three men. He said, "I talked to the three men and I asked them. Did they intend to throw 350 men out of work?" And he said that they answered him that they didn't intend to throw anyone out of work. So he said, "I take that to mean that maybe they didn't exactly say the same things to me that they did to the actors' group." Kelly then said, "Herb, let's get in your airplane and fly back and we will see if the three men will say the same things. Maybe they did say different things to each one of us, but if we are both together we will see what they say to us together." I hastily interrupted, not liking airplanes principally, and said, "Can't we get them on a conference telephone call and save some time?" I was afraid I would get stuck on that airplane, is the real reason. The next day we decided to get the three arbitrators in conference telephone conversation with representatives on this end and the arbitrators on the other. The next afternoon, at 3 o'clock — I better get back to the Knickerbocker meeting. At that time Mr. Sorrell said that the following three things, in this order, were what were keeping the strike going : No, 1, the December arbitration award and the August clarification of that difficulty ; No. 2, permanent arbitration machinery ; and No. 3, wages and hours, signed contracts with the producers. We asked him how important, if we could settle the first issue — how much of a problem the wages and hours were, and he said that they had only been apart on a few minor points at the time that the trouble broke, and he said they figured they could sign most of the contracts in 24 hours if the other things were out of the way. We then asked him if the three arbitrators said to all of us on the telephone what they had said to the actors in Chicago: Would the Conference of Studio Unions then accept the DecemlDer arbitration award ? He said they didn't want to support anything tliat was wrong and that they certainly would, that if the three arbitrators said to us what they said to all of them, that they would accept it, and Walter Pidgeon, I think it was, said, "We have already had Hutcheson's word on it. What if the carpenters don't go along?" And Herb Sorrell said, "Well, maybe we don't need the carpenters in the picture business. We won't support them if the arbitrators repeat to us what they said to you." At approximately 3 o'clock the next afternoon a call was arranged. Mr. Knight was in Kansas City and Mr. Birthriglit was in Indianapolis, I believe. They were on their end of the phone and Herb Sorrell, Skelton, Eoy Tinsdale of the IBEW, were on telephones, and Gene Kelly was on a phone and Eddie was on a phone, and Murphy was on a phone and I was on a phone and Herb Sorrell had brought a court recorder because he said if we didn't mind, he wanted it taken down, and we said that would be all right. The conversation opened, and we have a complete transcript of that telephone conversation. Mr. McCann. Let's have it.