The Sun and the New York herald., 1920-07-21
Strike CrippleS
Picture Studios
Printers, Developers and
Others Debate on Armis-
tice Proposal.

At meeting in Bryant Hall last nigh
striking printers, developers and Other
employees In motion picture studios de
bated late into the evening whether L
vote for an armistice with the Nationa
Association OF the Motion Picture In
dustry pending settlement 6f theil
strike by negotiation. A suspension o.
hostilitles seemed likely.
The Motion Picture Craftsmen in call
Ing the strike yesterday started serious
interference with the making Of $4,000,
coo feet Of film weekly, and through
their affiliation with the Internationa
Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employee!
here threatened to extend the strike
throughout the country IL their demands
for higher wages and recognition OF theil
union are not met.
The negotiations and meeting came al
the result Of a letter earlier in the day
sent to the union by the y. 4. NJ. =. l. In
which they offered TO have conferences or
condition the strike was suspended. ThC
strike leaders claimed that when thC
strike began in the morning 1000 mer
ard women Walled out and began picket
Ing
They declared that laboratories which
we're involved included those Of Fox
Universal. Paragon and Selznick at For
Lee; Famous Players-Lasky, on Lone
Island Robertson Cole, Kilograms ant
Eclipse, in Manhattan; VitaRraph, In
Brooklyn: Pathe. in New Jersey. and D
W. Griffith. at Mamaroneck. In tht
course of the day accCl ding TO Abe
Heller, president OF the Craftsmen
Griffith agreed 70 the terms, ard so did
Democracy, a omaller shop, in The
Bronx
Most of the shops were seriously Grip
pied. but the laboratory managers ex.
pressed confidence that the disorganiza-
tion resulting from the first day Of a
str Ike would be rectified the following
day. There was no disorder. but Sheriff
Kinseley Of Hackensack had thirteen
deputies to assist the Fort Lee police.
The Universal company was reported
to strike headquarters as having offered
to the men Is per cent. increase to
return, and. In fact, asserted II had won
a number of the men back. edwin L.
Murphy manager OF the Universal lobora.
tory, said that the production yesterday
was 60 per cent OF normal. Other film,
companies were said to have offered as
high as 80 per cent.-within 5 per cent
OF the average increase demanded by
the men---if they would return.
The N. A. NJ. P. l., represented by
Thomas Evans, chairman Of the labora-
tory section. declared they had been
given insufficient time for considcre,lSr
Of the demands, as the first official notice
had been received from the newly or
ganized union on June 5, when most oi
the executives Of the producing com.
panics and laboratories were starting on
their vacations. They maintained that
the union was virtually aiming to dictate
prices by setting the amount each labo-
ratory was to charge for developing and
printing foot of Aim.
The producers asserted a uniform
wage scale was impossible because con-
ditions varied so much In each shop. and
said that each laboratory must be con-
sidered separately. While willing "a
treat with the men regarding wages and
conditions of work, they said Il would
be impossible to have the union seal on
all Aim. which Is the recognition OF the
union which the strikers seek 1t was
pointed out BY members Of the N. A. NJ
P. l. that all the Aim used IN the r.lovio
industry is made by the Eastman COM
parry which is an open shop.