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)

1568 MOTION-PICTURE JURISDICTIONAL DISPUTES I am positive if the records were gone into — and I have made this statement before — covering the time the American Federation of Labor has been in existence, and I think it is around 70 or 75 years, I personally do not know of a single jurisdiction ever handed down that both sides lived up to. There may be, but by God, I don't know where they are. Mr. McCann. What is your answer as to the way in which this could be settled ? Mr. Casey. There is only one way this thing could ever be settled. That is, the people who are involved in it getting around a table, giving and taking, and let the poor devils alone who have given up their lives to these studios and have worked there — and there are several of them. Now, the rank and file, the younger fellow in any of these crafts, whether he is a painter, an electrician, or a carpenter, he can get all the work he wants on account of building conditions. But the fellow who has worked for 25 years in one of those departments, who is not a young fellow any more, it is hard for him to go out and climb scaffolds, climb ladders, and do that type of work. They must have been pretty good mechanics, because I do not think any one of them was ever hired for more than 1 day. When you hire a fellow for 1 day and keep him for 25 ^^ears, he must have delivered. I do not have a dollar interest in this thing in an way, shape, or manner, gentlemen. I do not own a dollar's worth of stock in any amusement enterprise, but I certainly would like to see the people get together and in some way put the poor devils back to work who are walking the streets, that have been part and parcel of this industry Mr. Owens. Of course, under an arrangement like that you probably have an awful habit of getting the very best men and the very best out of the men, don't you ? Mr. Casey. Yes, no question about that. Mr. Owens. The word "awful" was just used in jest. Mr. Landis. Mr. Casey, I agree with you they should sit down at the bargaining table. When we wrote the Taft-Hartley law on jurisdictional disputes we did not expect them to strike for very long and leave the employer out, because he had nothing to say about it. We intended to give them a few days, and if they did not settle within a few days, we would let the National Labor Relations Board settle it. Of course I would like to see them settle it first. Mr. Casey. Certainly you would. But let me tell you something, I do not want it to appear here that I am the Moses here, I do not think this is out of line. I have talked to some of your committee, but not you gentlemen. Again I think the Taft-Hartley Act made a little mistake. I think if the Taft-Hartley Act had gone through the way the Congress laid it out you would have less headaches, and it would have been better for everybody, I believe it is clause 3 in the contract as finally written that deals with jurisdiction. What do you say in there? You practically say that if there is a jurisdictional dispute and they cannot settle it within a day or two, or whatever it is Mr. Landis. Ten days. Mr. Casey. Ten days. They have the right then, to go to the National Eelations Board. They go and make an investigation, then