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)

2022 MOTION-PICTURE JURISDICTIONAL DISPUTES Mr. Brewer also stated that somewhere he read that Louis Weinstock donated $10,000 from his unions to the striking Hollywood unions, Louis Weinstock was labeled a Communist here. I wonder why, since Mr. Brewer knows so much, he did not mention that Jake Wellner, who is a right-wing leader of some of the painters' unions in New York and Brooklyn, and has as much prestige, I believe, as Louis Weinstock, donated as much or more to the striking unions in Hollywood as Louis Weinstock. I am sure that Jake Wellner would be very much displeased if he were accused of having Communist ideas, even, by reason of the fact that he contributed to a cause that could be labeled a communist cause. Jake Wellner knew the story as well as Louis Weinstock. I am sure he went to his unions to get money for the striking unions, with as clear a conscience as any trade-union leader would have. If Louis Weinstock is a Communist and if all of the people that donated money to our cause are Communists that still doesn't make any difference, we will take the money. Mr. Brewer also made quite a to-do about an election in the State federation of labor between a man called Shelley and a man called Bitters. Mr. Bittersis a carpenter. His nomination was seconded by Mr. Cambiano, who is also a carpenter, but Mr. Bitters' chances for winning were ruined when he was also seconded by Mr. Roy Brewer. Eoy Brewer is a much-hated man by many elements of labor in California. The main reason for this is that Mr. Brewer is looked upon as an impostor. Mr. Brewer was brought in from outside the State to run the lATSE and the motion-picture labor. At the time he was brought in there were two vice presidents of the lATSE who lived in Los Angeles and who, I have been told, received more votes tb.an Mr. Richard Walsh. They apparently have nothing to say about the way the lATSE is run. Instead, an appointed man is brought in to run labor there. The people who work for a living and pay dues to the lATSE don't like this. They supported Bioff because Bioff did some of them some good. Those who had steady jobs and those keymen in the studios who received hourly raises, benefited by them and Bioff was looked upon as a man who did some good for some of tlie ])eople in the motionpicture industry. ' Brewer is looked upon as a man who has done no one any good. One of the vice presidents of the lATSE, William Barret, who was business agent for local 80, and then was elected vice president of the lATSE, followed the line of the international and began to uphold their acts vociferously. He was defeated for reelection as business agent and now is working in the studios. The mere fact that Mr. Brewer suported Mr. Bitters against Mr. Shelly bears out the fact that the same relations now exist with the Walsh-Brewer machine that existed with the Bioff-Browne machine. What I am trying to do is to point out that the only difference we have been able to detect is a difference in personalities. Now, I mentioned Frank Nitti as being one of the gang. There was a group of so-called hoodlums' in Chicago who were supposed to be connected with Bioff and Browne in their manipulations in the studios. The only two of those people that I Icnew when an indict