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536 MOTION-PICTURE JURISDICTIONAL DISPUTES
morning that were built contrary to the clarification handed down by the committee.
Mr. McCann, That is the thino that has been referred to repeatedly in the past as the ultimatum issued by local 946.
Mr. Skelton. That is correct.
Mr. McCann. I am glad to get that straightened out.
Mr. Skelton. Now, the word ''hot set" which is used in this was used by me after — in general conversation with the producers, because the word "hot set" is nothing more than an industry term for anything where there is a little dispute on. It is used commonly by most of the crafts in the motion picture industry.
After that meeting that night we received a communication from the producers which has been put into evidence, that they could not accept the clarification and explained their reasons, which is in evidence here.
Our men soon after that — some of the producers would fire 4 or 5, the next day they would fire 10. This continued on until around the 22d of September, when a real program was outlined to fire all of the carpenters on the lot. We had a lot of men who worked as wood tm-ners, and we had a lot of apprentices who were not qualified as carpenters, and we had a lot of machine men and other specialty men who were not qualified to do the work of a carpenter, and they took these men from their jobs, took them to a stage and told them to do a specific job on this set, and on the men refusing, they told them they were not fired but they must leave the lot. In some places they loaded them onto trucks bodily and hauled them off, and wdien they got them outside the gate they dumped them out.
Mr. MgCann. When you say they loaded them on trucks, let's get that quite clear. You mean they didn't take them physically and put them on ?
Mr. Skelton. That is correct, at M. G. M. Studio.
Mr. McCann. He says he means that they picked those men up bodily and put them on trucks.
Mr. Skelton. In one or two instances that is correct, and they were put off the lots. At one place, at Pathe, wliere some 40 or 50 of our men were working on a stage, an outside stage at a different lot, what they call the 40 acres, the men were put into trucks and taken up to the Pathe lot and the 40 of them were told, or whatever the exact number is, were told to go in and do a certain job on a set on one of the stages. They said they could not work on that, but they would be glad to go back and work where they were working. The superintendent says, "Well, you can't go back there. My orders are that you are to come here and work on this stage, and if you don't I am to put you off the lot. You fellows know just as much as I do about what this is all about, and that is my orders and I intend to carry them out."
Mr. McCann. Right there, what was the name of the boss of the 40 carpenters or the number that you mentioned on tliis 40-acre lot?
Mr. Skelton. I don't know the name of the boss who was in charge, but I can get that information for you, but the superintendent who told them is Harold Berry, superintendent of RKO studios.
Mr. McCann. Is he present I
Mr. Skelton. He is in town, or was the last I heard.