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)

1566 MOTION-PICTURE JURISDICTIONAL DISPUTES knowledge, in Hollywood — and I think I am right — where it was ever about anything but jurisdiction. Before the NRA came into existence, there was a time when we were having it pretty tough. We went to the signatories of the basic agreement and told them how tough it was. They gave us a reduction of a dollar a day on the men. But before NRA came into existence conditions were bad. They called a meeting. They said, "We have got to have more work. We have got to have this and that and so and so." And we voluntarily, before any NRA meeting was held, gave the men a 6-hour day instead of an 8-hour day for the same amount of money that they were getting for 8 hours, and that has been in existence ever since. They did give us an 8-hour day during the war, but we jDaid time and a half after 6 hours, and it is still in effect. Now, I am sorry anything like this had to happen. Of course, I have lived with the thing, but since the 1st of July I have been out of the picture. I have served my apprenticeship. We have done a. good job because the gates have never been closed. Of course, that is the main thing you have to watch for. My personal opinion is this, gentlemen, and take it for what it is worth: That had that committee, when they sent in that directive that the work of set erection belonged to the lATSE, if they had said in that line that the set erection belonged to local 80 of the lATSE, which I am informed — I have never seen the contract — was practically what had been agreed to between the carpenters and local 8Q of the grips Mr. Owens. Mr. Chairman, may I ask a question at that point. Mr. Kearns. Yes, proceed Mr. Owens. Mr. Casey, did the inclusion of the words in there with respect to the 1925 agreement, add anything to the point ? Mr. Caset. No, sir. What had happened in 1925 was, as I have told you. But after that, as it progressed, the carpenters built the sets. The laborers took those sets before they were put together from the mill to the stage. The carpenter went over to that stage with a blueprint. He laid out his floor plan. He put up the set. He did the trim and the millwork and things of that kind. From then on the grips took charge. When that set was to be used again, the gi-ips took it down, took it apart, took whatever could be salvaged and saved, over to the bins, what we call the storehouse. If it was not to be used again, the laborers came in, knocked it to pieces, took it to the incinerators and burned it up. It was cheaper in those days to burn the stuff up than it was to knock it down, take the nails out, save this piece or that piece, and things of that kind. You could buy the lumber and material cheaper, and it was cheaper to do it that way. Now, they have worked hand in hand. As I say, no two lots work alike. Sometimes the grips took that work from the carpenter shop over there. But to my knowledge, I have never seen any serious trouble between local 80, which is the grips, and the carpenters. There were certain things that came along. The grips got out a patented scaffolding of piping instead of a wooden structure. That was theirs. They made it. Everybody used it. The carpenters worked on it. The painters worked on it. Everybody worked on it.