New York IATSE Local Accused of Nepotism in Class Action Lawsuit
The largest crew union in New York was hit with a class action lawsuit on Tuesday, alleging that it has excluded hundreds of film and TV workers while reserving jobs for insiders.
Ronald Bishop, an electrical technician, alleges that it took him 12 years to gain admission to IATSE Local 52. He was repeatedly informed that he had failed the union entrance exam, which the suit alleges was a 'sham.'
He continued to work on shows including 'Blue Bloods' and 'Daredevil' as an 'applicant.' He was excluded from supervisory roles and watched other, less experienced workers get promoted ahead of him, the lawsuit states. Even after he qualified for the pension plan in 2018, he was still denied union membership for another six years, according to the suit.
'During this period, Local 52 arbitrarily admitted hundreds of other individuals on the basis of nepotism and friendship, ahead of Mr. Bishop and putative class members,' the lawsuit states. 'These restrictions caused Mr. Bishop financial harm and emotional distress for the years he was improperly blocked from union membership.'
IATSE declined to comment.
IATSE Local 52 was previously investigated by the New York State Attorney General's office, which concluded in 2014 that the admissions process was plagued by nepotism, which disproportionately excluded Black and Latino applicants. The union agreed to a settlement in which it paid a $475,000 fine and was subject to outside monitoring for three years. It did not admit wrongdoing.
Local 52 agreed to another settlement in 2022, pledging not to illegally 'bump' non-members off of production jobs in favor of cardholders.
Bishop's class action lawsuit alleges that the union continues to exclude workers from membership even though they qualify for the health plan, which should make them automatically eligible. The suit also alleges that supervisory members still control who works and who doesn't, and follow 'unwritten rules' that favor cardholders.
'Cardholders can bump, or replace, noncardholders from productions when cardholders need work,' the suit alleges.
Bishop, who is Black, filed an individual discrimination suit against Local 52 and several studios, including Netflix, Amazon, HBO, and CBS, in September 2024. His attorney, Fred Charles, dismissed that suit and refiled a class action under federal labor law, after hearing about others of all races who were excluded from membership.
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