Sorrell (Herbert K.) Scrapbooks About Los Angeles and the Hollywood Strike, 1945-1947

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Summary

Title:
Herbert Knott Sorrell Scrapbooks About Los Angeles and the Hollywood Strike,
Dates:
1945-1947
Creators:
Sorrell, Herbert Knott, 1897-1974
Abstract:
The Hollywood studio strike began on March 12, 1945 when the Conference of Studio Unions (CSU), led by Herbert Sorrell, went on strike to protest the studios' delay in granting a contract renewal for interior decorators despite opposition from the larger, more established International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Moving Picture Operators of the United States and Canada (IATSE). At the end of October, the National Labor Relations Board ruled in favor of CSU, and the studios and IATSE gave way. In early 1946, CSU tried to negotiate a new wage contract with the studios, but disagreements led to another strike in the summer of 1946. IATSE sent their employees to keep the studios open, and the Screen Actors Guild and 24 other Hollywood unions denounced the strike as a jurisdictional dispute, affirming their right to cross the picket lines. CSU's failure to close the studios led to a vote in October 1947 by the painters union which broke the strike. The collection consists of scrapbooks, including clippings, photographs, a book, and ephemera concerning the Hollywood Studio Strike, compiled by H.K. Sorrell, and material relating to the hearings on the strike conducted in Los Angeles by the Special Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Education and Labor.
Extent:
1 box (0.5 linear ft.) 1 oversize box
Language:
English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Herbert Knott Sorrell Scrapbooks About Los Angeles and the Hollywood Strike (Collection 791). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Background

Scope and content:

Collection consists of scrapbooks, including clippings, photographs, a book, and ephemera concerning the Hollywood Studio Strike, 1946-47, compiled by H.K. Sorrell, labor union representative and president of the Conference of Studio Unions. Includes material relating to the hearings on the strike conducted in Los Angeles by the Special Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Education and Labor, and Gene Price's book, The story of the Hollywood film strike in cartoons.

Biographical / historical:

The Hollywood studio strike began on March 12, 1945 when the Conference of Studio Unions (CSU), consisting of nine unions and nearly ten thousand workers led by Herbert Sorrell, went on strike to protest the studios' delay in granting a contract renewal for interior decorators despite opposition from the larger, more established International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Moving Picture Operators of the United States and Canada (IATSE). In early October 1945, CSU concentrated its pickets at Warner Brothers; a series of fights ensued and police, studio guards, and IATSE forced the strikers to retreat. At the end of October, the National Labor Relations Board ruled in favor of CSU, and the studios and IATSE gave way. In early 1946, CSU tried to negotiate a new wage contract with the studios, but disagreements led to another strike in the summer of 1946. IATSE sent their employees to keep the studios open, provoking more armed clashes. The Screen Actors Guild and 24 other Hollywood unions denounced the strike as a jurisdictional dispute, affirming their right to cross the picket lines. CSU's failure to close the studios led to a vote in October 1947 by the painters union which broke the strike; CSU disintegrated and faded away.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Herbert K. Sorrell, 1962.
Physical location:
Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections Reference Desk for paging information.

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Processed by Anne Caiger; machine-readable finding aid created by Alight Tsai
Date Prepared:
© 2002
Date Encoded:
Text converted and initial EAD tagging provided by Apex Data Services, September 2001 . Frontmatter gathered from MARC record. Supplementary encoding and revision supplied by Alight Tsai and Caroline Cubé.

Access and use

Restrictions:

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Advance notice required for access.

Terms of access:

Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Herbert Knott Sorrell Scrapbooks About Los Angeles and the Hollywood Strike (Collection 791). Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Location of this collection:
A1713 Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
Contact:
(310) 825-4988
AskLSC@library.ucla.edu
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