Motion Picture Herald (Mar-Apr 1945)

etc York Talks ail; Strike on oast Stymied :tle prospect of an immediate settlement of the v-wood studio strike was seen at midweek ving the fruitless efforts in New York of ird F. Walsh, IATSE president, and Pat y, producers' labor contact, to iron out differwith William Hutcheson, head of the Carpenand Joiners International Union. Monday jeers wired the striking unions that unless returned to work by Wednesday, "We have alternative but to fill the jobs from other :es." :esday the Conference of Studio Unions ignored producers' ultimatum and continued to maintheir picket lines. Informed circles felt that no ediate drastic attempt to supplant the strikers wholesale scale was presaged, but that the ucers' move constituted the formality necessary aunching legal action to end the deadlock, rlier Monday, officials of the IATSE revoked :harter of Property Men's Local 44, some of ;e members last week refused to obey Mr. sh's orders to continue performance of jobs ■ than their own which producers had assigned tem. cepting the suggestion made by the IATSE -gents, the Conference of Studio Unions' stratcommittee appointed jurisdictional committees 1 affected crafts, and telegraphed the regional tor of the War Manpower Commissioner in Francisco, asking that steps be taken to "stop studios and unions from violating referral ability certificates" by getting workmen into studios on permits for one kind of work and assigning other work to them. rs Producers Are Helpless r. Casey, who left New York Sunday for ywood, said before his departure that coast ucers were faced with the most serious jurisonal dispute in the industry' s history and were ess to take any action between the several ing international unions of the American ration of Labor. 2 could not possibly accede, Mr. Casey said, tr Hutcheson's demand that Studio Carpenters' J 946 have jurisdiction over all studio help ■cing on wood, wood machines, wood working wood substitutes, as well as all other carpentry ■c now being performed by members of Local nd other IATSE workers. r. Walsh, who left New York Monday, said aw little likelihood of the War Labor Board ig any action in the jurisdictional fight ben Local 44 and Studio Set Decorators' Local as long as Herbert Sorrell, Conference head, inued to defy the board in refusing to order men back to work. He also pointed out that liam Green, AFL president, was not likely to ~vene, especially since Mr. Sorrell had been :ted to conform with the AFL "no-strike" ge. •pute Seen as Serious r. Walsh did not conceal the fact that the fictional dispute between the carpenters and IATSE involving a possible 1,000 workers much more serious than the initial dispute .een the IATSE and Local 1421, which ined some 70 workers. The Conference of Studio ons claims jurisdiction over 1421, and had been ified its bargaining agent before the strike, ch began March 12. ommenting on the breakdown of the CaseyIsh-Hutcheson conferences, Mr. Sorrell said, at's what I said a week ago would happen, y were just wasting time, with Walsh trying ave face." 'ollywood police last Saturday reported there been some dozen fights between workers and :ets with no serious injuries resulting, with the eption of a squabble at the Paramount studio ,vhich eight property men were hurt, two of n seriously enough to be hospitalized. NLRB Places All "Bit" Players Under Guild Jurisdiction The National Labor Relations Board in Washington last week revised its certification of the Screen Players Union as the exclusive bargaining representative for all extras, putting "bits and parts" players back under the Screen Actors Guild, and warned both unions against reprisals designed to prevent persons who have customarily performed both acting and extra work from continuing to do so. The amended decision was based on a hearing held February 22 at which spokesmen for the 10 Hollywood studios involved and for the guild protested the original designation as setting up a unit not appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining. The board reversed its original position to find, on the record, that the performance of bits and parts, as well as stunts and singing, "is not the characteristic function of the group comprising the extra players, but rather of the professional actors, consisting of the Class A and Class A Junior members of the guild, who customarily perform no extra work." Under the revamped certification, the SPU is designated as the exclusive bargaining agent in the 10 studios for all persons who perform extra work, "but excluding all employees who, either directly pursuant to day player, stock, or free-lance contracts or by adjustment subsequent to being employed originally for extra work, perform stunts, singing, or bits or parts involving a line or lines of essential story dialogue." St. Louis Stagehands The Regional War Labor Board in Kansas City, in a decision announced last week, awarded the St. Louis local of the AFL Theatrical Brotherhood a wage increase of 15 per cent and vacations with pay and upheld recommendations of the board's special arbitrator, Jules E. Kohn, that one stagehand be dropped from each of five first run theatres and one second run house. The decision in granting the 15 per cent wage increase from the present salary of $75 a week, ruled that the increase be retroactive to January 15, 1944, when negotiations for a new contract began. One week's vacation with pay after one year and two weeks after five years are granted, with provision that vacations are also retroactive. Sixty-seven members of the union are involved. The reduction of one stagehand at the Ambassador, Shubert, Missouri, Loew's State, Loew's Orpheum and Empress theatres will mean reduction in weekly payrolls of $450 weekly. Under the arbitrator's report no change is made in 41 neighborhood theatres which have one stagehand each. Theatres sought to reduce the number of stagehands at both first runs and neighborhood houses on the ground their services were not needed. The arbitrator's report emphasized that duties of stagehands have increased and their services are neces Daff and Novak to Europe On Universal Sales Trip Al Daff, Universal International vice-president, left last weekend for London on the first leg of a three-month trip covering. France, North Africa and the Middle East. Harry Novak, recently named Continental European manager for Universal, was scheduled to leave this week for Europe to assume his new post. His headquarters will be in Paris. While in England, Mr. Daff will attend a meeting April 4 of General Film Distributors' managers, the J. Arthur Rank Company which distributes Universal product in the United Kingdom. Mr. Daff and Mr. Novak also will confer in Paris with the company's French personnel. Stone Appoints Zeltner Irwin Zeltner has been named eastern publicity representative for Andrew Stone Productions. His first assignment will be "Bedside Manner," which United Artists will release. He was publicity manager in New York for the Loew circuit for 10 years, resigning to represent independent producers. Recently he "was special home office publicity representative for Twentieth CenturyFox. Industry Studies Johnston Plan for New Labor Code Their most serious jurisdictional dispute still unsolved, executives of the motion picture industry this week studied the proposals for a managementlabor code advanced jointly last week by Eric Johnston, president of the United States Chamber of Commerce ; William Green, president of the American Federation of Labor, and Philip Murray, president of the Congress of Industrial Organizations. Pat Casey, labor representative for the producers in their efforts to break the union deadlock that had slowed production for almost a month, termed the proposals "a fine idea if they can be made to work." He pointed out in New York, however, that the current argument revolved solely around union jurisdictional disagreements. "There is no argument over wages, hours or employment conditions," Mr. Casey declared. "The whole issue is one of jurisdiction — who is going to do what and under whose supervision." He pointed out that there was no provision for the solution of that type of problem in the proposed code. He termed the new dispute the most serious the motion picture industry had ever faced and asserted that the producers were powerless to settle the controversy. Will H. Hays, president of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, Inc., hailed the proposals developed by the triumvirate as "a long step in the right direction toward that peace at home so necessary for the maintenance of world peace." He declared that world peace "grows from united effort and understanding and has its roots in the communities," and argued that there could be no lasting peace in the community" unless neighbors live and act as friends." He said there could be no unsolvable problems "around a table where each is willing to recognize the fundamental American principle that the rights of men are equally sacred and sacredly equal." The code, in brief, would reserve to management the right to manage, and assure to labor support of the right to organize and bargain collectively. It would prepare for increased foreign trade, aided by American help to war-torn nations, and the establishment of an international security organization. A committee of 15 men would be established "to promote an understanding and sympathetic acceptance of this code of principles. The Committee would propose such national policies as will advance the best interest of our nation." Twelve members were designated, as follows : For industry — Mr. Johnston ; Paul G. Hoffman, president of the Studebaker Corporation ; Henry J. Kaiser, president of the Henry J. Kaiser Company ; Otto A. Seyferth, president of the West Michigan Steel. Foundries, and chairman of the U. S. Chamber of Commerce committee on labor relations : E. J. Thomas, president of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and J. D. Zellerbach, president and director of Crown-Zellerbach. For Labor — Mr. Green ; Mr. Murray ; George Meany, secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Labor ; Robert J. Watt, international representative of the American Federation of Labor ; R. J. Thomas, president of the United Automobile Workers, and Sidney Hillman, president of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers. Clothing Collection Cites Lust Circuit for Aid Recognition for being the first circuit in the country to get behind the current United National Clothing Collection for war relief went to the Sidney Lust circuit in Washington, D. C, it was announced from the campaign's national headquarters Monday. The Lust circuit has designated April 13 as free matineee day for all adults and children bringing a bundle of clothing for the drive. The campaign, which will run through the month of April is headed by Henry J. Kaiser. Its goal is 150,000,000 pounds of garments, shoes and bedding to meet the needs of 125,000,000 war victims. sary. WLB Grants Increases to HON PICTURE HERALD, APRIL 7, 1945 29