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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1422 MOTION-PICTURE JURISDICTIONAL DISPUTES Mr. Owens. I want to pursue that one point, but I will wait imtil the regular question period. Mr. Landis. I would like to go a little further along. I just won- dered how you and your organization liked the language of the clarifi- cation that was made about 6 or 8 months later. Did you approve of the clarification language? Mr. HuTCHESON. Mr. Chairman, I read the minutes of the executive- council meeting where it was approved, and where I voted in favor of it. Mr. Kearns. You could answer that "3^es" or "no" for Mr. Landis; that is, whether you approved of the clarification or not. Mr. HuTCHESON. We agreed to it. Mr. Landis. On the directive, Mr. Hutcheson, it gives the list of things, the duties, the work which went to the carpenters, and those things that went to the stage emploj^ees. Wliat work in this directive did you think belonged to the carpenters? Mr. Hutcheson. In the clarification or the directive? Mr. Landis. The directive. Mr. Hutcheson. All carpenter work, of course. Mr. Landis. Before the strike didn't the stage-hand employees do some of the carpenter work ? Mr. Hutcheson. I think they probably were doing some woodwork that we claim as ours. As an illustration. I think I read into the record here and made the statement clearly that we, the Brotherhood of Carpenters, claimed jurisdiction over all branches of the woodworking industry, includ- ing millwrighting. I mentioned that specifically. I should have gone a bit further, pei'haps, and said the making of all trim and all buildings, the mai<:ing of tables like this, chaii-s, and so forth, putting that railing around that is in front of you. Now, in the evolution of things, in the evolution of entertainments, back in the days Avhen moving pictures came into existence, the mem- bers of the lATSE pi-ior to that time had had, with our approval, the setting of what you might call sets in theaters where a show was going to be given. We said : "All right; set your own furniture, and so forth,^ on the stage to make up your sets." But we claimed, and still do, that we, as woodworkers and carpenters, had the right to make tables, chairs, and everything else. We still contend that the making of furniture—desks, tables, chairs, and so forth—is the work of our members. They call that "props." We have no objection to them placing them as they want to when shooting a picture or in entertainment, but we still contend that is our work. Mr. Landis. You contend you ought to make them ? Mr. Hutcheson. Yes; we certainly still contend that. I think that answers your question. Mr. Landis. That is it. Mr. Owens. Just to follow that up for clarification, Mr. Hutcheson, I believe they said at that time the work of miniature sets would belong- to the stage-hand employees. Would that be correct ? Mr. Hutcheson. What do you mean, "correct"? Mr. Owens. Would you grant that that was true? Mr. Hutcheson. AVe say we should do that. What's the difference whether you are building a playhouse for some children or whether