Motion Picture Herald (Mar-Apr 1945)

HOLLYWOOD STRIKE MENACES THEATRE Projectionists Ordered to Await Work Halt; Most Studio Workers Idle On Wednesday of this week, a three-day-old jurisdictional controversy between the Conference of Studio Unions in behalf of the 78 members of Set Decorators Local No. 1421 and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees in Hollywood had seriously interfered with production in the studios and threatened momentarily to close most of the nation's motion picture theatres. Developments over the three-day period which flashed varying degrees of danger warnings to the industry included : 1. The gradual slowing down of all production activity at the major studios in Hollywood, where on Wednesday it was estimated that approximately 17,000 industry employees were idle. 2. Instructions from Richard F. Walsh, president of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees to various locals to "stand by" for instructions to strike in all theatres employing union projectionists and other members. Most of the nation's large theatres have contracts with the union. 3. Condemnation of the strike by War Labor Board officials, who termed it a "pressure move" on the part of the union to force the studios to put a regional board ruling into effect without awaiting the outcome of a WLB appeal filed by the producers. Recovering somewhat after the shock of the first day, producers were able in most instances to keep production rolling at partial capacity as the IATSE sent in engineers to man power plant equipment in place of the striking members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. In the main, however, the wheels of production were grinding to a stop, with chances gloomy for adequate operation unless the controversy was settled quickly. The publicity activity of the studios slowed down as the 300 members of the Screen Publicists Guild voted to strike in support of the painters and decorators. Most of those working were confined to answering telephone calls from the press about, the strike. Confusion Complicates Situation Confusion, meanwhile, complicated the situation. Herbert K. Sorrell, president of the Conference of Studio Unions, declared that he would not obey a message from the union's international headquarters ordering the men back to work, and that the president himself had told him by telephone to disregard it. L. P. Lindeloff, president of the International Painters and Paperhangers of America, said at Indianapolis that he had telegraphed Edmund Musa, business agent of the Hollywood local, to order the men back to work. Mr. Sorrell said that Mr. Lindeloff told him by telephone to ignore that order. "When I send you a wire, then it is all right, but pay no attention to other wires," Mr.. Sorrell quoted Mr. Lindeloff as saying. In his telegraphic order to IATSE unions, Mr. Walsh declared that "because of coercive methods of the painters' local and tolerant sub mission to such methods by various Government agencies, and for the protection of the IATSE as a whole, you are instructed to have your members stand by for an order to stop handling or exhibiting any motion pictures made by any West Coast producer." Retorted Mr. Sorrell, commenting on Mr. Walsh's notification to his locals, "in the first place, he can't do it. In the second, it would wreck the IATSE if he tried to." The Screen Office Employees Guild formalized a pro-strike attitude at the Tuesday night meeting, an attitude already adopted by most members. All members were out on Wednesday. Ed Flore, president of the Culinary Workers Union, ordered his members early Wednesday morning to observe the picket lines starting on Thursday. This action was expected to close the studio commissaries. Committees from the Screen Actors Guild, Screen Writers Guild and Screen Directors Guild were seeking a working agreement to restore normal procedure. The meeting of these members adjourned Tuesday night without making a statement, to resume deliberations on Wednesday. Stoppage Began Monday The stoppage began Monday following a special strike meeting called by the Conference of Studio Unions in behalf of Set Decorators Local 1421, recognized recently by the War Labor Board as bargaining agent for the set designers, pending final decision by the National Labor Relations Board. Producers issued a statement declaring, "We are caught helplessly in a jurisdictional dispute," referring to the notification by Richard Walsh, IATSE president, that he would order his membership not to report to work in the event the producers recognized Local 1421. Both unions are members of the American Federation of Labor, and the same jurisdictional squabble between them last October caused a six-day stoppage in the studios, involving some 750 workers. Herbert Sorrell, Conference president, who explained the issues to 500 workers Sunday night at a meeting in the Hollywood Legion' Stadium, said : "The War Labor Board ordered the employers last month to continue dealing with Local 1421 as the bargaining agent for set decorators. The employers did not do so. We reported this to the board. There was still no action. The men voted to strike." Hearings Continue Meanwhile Meanwhile, National Labor Relations Board hearings, started last week, continued. Representatives of the producers, set decorators and IATSE offered testimony from which the board will decide whether an election to determine the appropriate bargaining agency is warranted. The Screen Actors Guild also met Monday to set a date for a membership meeting to vote on whether to support the strike. The guild, which emerged from the 1937 strike as the players' bargaining representative, then agreed with the producers who recognized them as such not to strike for a period of 10 years and to submit grievances to arbitration. The settlement of the 1937 studio strike was delayed by a jurisdictional struggle between Federated Motion Picture Crafts and 1 H IATSE. After continuing through all of M and the first half of June that year, paint and scenic artists were granted a 100 per c( union shop, with the jurisdictional questi still unsettled. Finally, the FMPC was d banded. The statement of the producers said th , "were powerless to prevent" the strike. "\ j have taken and are taking every possible stj I to secure a decision of the War Labor Boa and the National Labor Relations Board whi will settle the dispute," the statement said, ac ing, "We have urged and are urging our eii ployees to await this legal determination." I The strike was called in disregard of a tel gram from the WLB Saturday urging agaiij it, Mr. Sorrell declaring, "We must use t| language the producers understand." Monogram, PRC, Walt Disney and Tech color were specifically exempted from the pi eting because they had agreed to "go alon with the Conference. Mitchell President of New England Group At the annual meeting of Independent Exhibito Inc., of New England, in Boston, recently, t following officers and directors were electe Walter E. Mitchell, president; E. Harold Ston man, first vice-president ; Warren Nichold, secoi vice-president ; Kenneth Forkey, secretary, aid W. L. Bendslev, treasurer. Mr. Mitchell appoint* the following to the executive committee : Naths Yamins, chairman ; Frank Boscketti, J. E. Cha bonneau ; Richard Flora; Allard M. Graves; Fni J. Greene; Francis C. Lydon ; Joseph Mathiei Daniel Murphy; Francis M. Perry; Marr Pouzzner ; George Ramsdell ; Samuel Resnik Philip Smith ; Meyer Stanzler and William / Viano. < Edwin Kilroe Appointed to Bar Association Committee Edwin P. Kilroe, Twentieth Century Fox, h; been appointed to the Committee on Intellectu Property, in copyright, of the Inter-American B; Association. Mr. Kilroe is copyright adviser to his compan and to Movietone, Inc. The Committee will make its report at th Fourth conference of the Association, Santiagi Chile, October 20 through 29. He will represent the Motion Picture Producer and Distributors of America on the Committee. Ford Slated as Bernstein Aide in British MOI Post Richard Ford, former British Information Serv ice film head in New York and Washington, i slated to become assistant to Sidney Bernstein o the British Ministry of Information, it is learnei in New York. He will leave shortly for England His duties, ampng other things, will be. to collec information on production and distribution of offr cial and Allied films in liberated Europe. Nevilf Gardiner, Washington film officer of Britisl Information Service, also will leave shortly foi England to confer with officials in the film division, More Patrons After War, Cowdin Predicts American films will have more patrons after the war than ever before, J. Cheever Cowdin, Universal board chairman, predicted Tuesday, following his return from Great Britain, and in an address to the annual stockholders' meeting at Wilmington, Del. The company had given the Army, gratis, 4,122 prints of features, and 2,655 prints of short subjects, Mr. Cowdin noted, in reviewing activities of the year. Directors were reelected at the meeting. Freeman Reports Manager Martin Freeman, formerly Monogram salesman, has been appointed district manager in the central states, for, Confidential Reports, Inc., new checking organization. 16 MOTION PICTURE HERALD, MARCH 17, 1945