NLRB v. Walt Disney Productions
Testimony: Day 1 of 7
October 8, 1942
The Prosecution
Charles M. Ryan
Louis Stein
Witnesses
Art Babbitt, Dave Hilberman,
Phyllis Lambertson, Franz Baur,
Jean Ritchie, Herb Lamb,
Bill Pomerance, Chuck Jones,
Bob Clampett, Frank Tashlin, Bill Hurtz
The Defense
Gunther Lessing
Jackson W. Chance
Homer I. Mitchell
Witnesses
Harold Adelquist, Anthony O'Rourke,
Bill Roberts, Wilfred Jackson,
Dave Hand, Jack Kinney, Dick Lundy,
Gunther Lessing, Walt Disney
Witness for the Prosecution: Art Babbitt
On this first day of the trial between Art Babbitt and the Disney company, Babbitt spends the day in the witness's stand. He recounts his personal experience in the industry and at Disney, how he and Gunther Lessing came to co-create the Federation of Screen Cartoonists, the Federation's downfall, and Babbitt's enrollement with the Screen Cartoonists Guild.
Pages (as notated in the top corners)
1 – Index
9 – Objections and Stipulations
30 – ART BABBITT describes his personal history
38 – Babbitt's interpretation of the Disney production process
45 – Babbitt's role at Disney
58 – The instigating threat of Bioff and the IATSE in December, 1937
77 – The Federation's first meetings
105 – The role of supervisors in unions
109 – The birth and certification of the Federation, and Roy's refusal to negotiate.
117 – The IATSE's infiltration of Disney's camera department
121 – The Federation chairmen agree to disband ("let the Federation die").
124 – Walt learns of the Guild in Hollywood and pushes the Federation to block it.
143 – Babbitt's involvement with the Guild and the negative consequences at work.