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)

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1318 MOTION-PICTURE JURISDICTIONAL DISPUTES ings in the history of the labor movement. They arrive at conckisions believing that in the light of what has happened the stage is being set for another happening. Mr. Owens. Well, we will go into that briefly. In other words, an employer who is employing people wants to carry on his business, does he not? Mr. Brown. Yes. Mr. Owens. So he has an agreement with a union organization to go ahead and carry on the work. He just has one union and he goes all right with the work; is that correct? Mr. Brown. Yes. Mr. Owens. Another union comes into the field and begins to carry on disputes with the first union. Does that concern the employer? Mr. Brown. Well, that is a general statement. I would rather have you illustrate something more specific. Mr. Owens. Don't you think when two unions have a dispute it is the duty of the employer to try to keep his place open and deal with the general public and let the unions settle their own dispute ? Mr. Brown. I don't think I should be called upon to testify to a hypothetical question. Mr. Owens. You just said you wanted an opinion and I am giving you that chance. Mr. Brown. Based upon experience, and that is a hypothetical question. Mr. Owens. It is a common everyday experience, because you talked about what happened in unions. Now I am giving you what hap- pened each day according to the testimony we have had here. The employers are dealing with the unions, getting along very nicely. Then another union comes into the same field and starts arguing with the union that is then in there. Do you think the employer should participate in their quarrel ? Mr. Brown. If I understand your question, Mr. Owens, I would say "Yes," but I would qualify it with this further statement: We had an agreement with the studios for years. At no time, so far as I know, did any union claim any work which had been per- formed by members of our organization under that contract. And when another union comes into the picture and attempts to lay claim to work performed by our union, a union which the employer had always recognized as a union having jurisdiction over that work, I think it is the responsibility of that employer to tell the offending union, the trespassing union, that they are not going to permit a dis- ruption in their labor relations by reason of them invading the juris- diction of the first union, Mr, Owens, That is fine, Mr, Brown, I think then the employer has the responsibility to put up the stop sign. Mr. Ow^ENS. That is fine. Now, let's go to 1945. The strike took place in the spring of 1945. You had an agreement to do the work ? Mr. Brown. Yes. Mr. Owens. You did not do it, did you ? Mr. Brown. We had what? Mr. Owens, You had an agreement to do certain work for the studios, but you did not do it?