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)

512 MOTION-PICTURE JURISDICTIONAL DISPUTES "'(d) Until the conflict in jurisdiction between local 1421 and local 44 is resolved within the organization of the AFL ; or " '(e) Until the further order of the National War Labor Board. "'(3) It is understood that this award is witout prejudice to the rights of either the producers, local 44, or local 1421 to petition the National Labor Relations Board to determine any question of representation that may exist nor to the rights of either union to request the AFL to determine the conflicting claims of jurisdiction, but is solely an award to preserve the status quo in the public interest unless and until such a final determination is made of this controversy.' "16. On February 26, 1945, the proucers filed a petition with the War Labor Board for a review of the award, asking the War Labor Board to set the award aside and requesting the War Labor Board to order the lATSE and local 1421 to join the producers in requesting the National Labor Relations Board to resolve the question of repreesntation. "17. On February 27, 1945, the petition in the instant case was filed by the producers. "18. On March 7, the hearing in the above-captioned case began before Trial Examiner Maurice J. Nicoson. "19. On March 12, local 1421 went out on strike. Numerous other employees including carpenters, electricians, machinists, painters, refused to go through the picket lines and joined the strike. "20. On April 4, 1945, producers notified each of the set decorators who were on strike that 'You are hereby notified that your employment is terminated. Such action was taken because of your failure to report for work, and perform services in accordance with your obligation so to do.' " The 1945 strike ended on October 31. The settlement restored all 1421 members to their jobs and removed all the strikebreakers in our jurisdiction — although many of thse, while not working, remained on studio pay rolls for months. That strike would never have oc urred if the producers had lived up to their contracts and their collective-bargaining obligations. Mr. Freeman explained, in his testimony here, that the producers were in the middle and faced with the choice of offending one of two unions. Let us examine that producer position in the light of subsequent events. Two important decisions were rendered which cleared jurisdictional matters for local 1421 : 1. The December 1945 AFL directive settled the matter of jurisdiction over the decorators in the following language : "The committee finds that set decorators in the motion-picture studios come within the jurisdiction of the Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators, and Paperhangers of America." 2. The National Labor Relations Board on October 26, 1945, issued a certification to local 1421 as exclusive bargaining agent for set decorators. That certification said : "It is hereby certified that Screen Set Designers, Illustrators, and Decorators, Local 1421, has been designat* d and selected by a majority of all set decorators employed by [the major studios] as their representative for the piirpose of collective bargaining and that * * * the said organization is the exclusive representative of all such employees for the purpose of collective bargaining * * *." On January 1, 1946, we were therelore ready to resume contract negotiations — already 2 years overdue. The period fi'ori.' January 1 to July 1, 1946, was characterized by: 1. Dilatory and evasive negotiations on the part of the producers. (See Casey correspondence in the record of this hearing.) 2. Agreement between the producers and the CSU on a plan for arbitrating all jurisdictional dilferences.* This plan was never made effective because it was never accepted by the lATSE. 3. Continuing jurisdictional encroachments on the CSU locals. Carpenters Local 946, INIachinists Local 1185, and our own local 1421 were the targets of these new encroachments. The problems of the carpenters and machinists are covered in detail elsewhere in the testimony of this hearing. The efforts of all three locals to resolve these disputes in an orderly and peaceful manner should be emphasized. The records show that the carpenters referred the matter to the only recognized tribunal for clarification — the three-man committee of the executive council of the AFL. The machinists took their problem to the NLRB. Local 1421 tried to straighten out its difficulties in direct dealings * Testimony of Pat Casey in current hearing.