New York IATSE Local Accused of Nepotism in Class Action Lawsuit

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On Tuesday, the biggest labor union in New York found itself at the center of a class-action lawsuit, claiming that it has systematically overlooked around 300 workers within the film and television industry, instead favoring established members.

According to Ronald Bishop, who works as an electrical technician, he claims it took him twelve long years to get accepted into IATSE Local 52. He states that he was constantly told he didn’t pass their union entrance test, which the lawsuit alleges was a fraudulent exam.

He carried on contributing to productions like “Blue Bloods” and “Daredevil,” holding a position as an “applicant.” Despite being overlooked for supervisory roles, he found himself watching colleagues who were less experienced than him being promoted ahead, according to the lawsuit. The suit further claims that even after becoming eligible for a pension in 2018, he was denied union membership for another six years.

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He remained involved with projects such as “Blue Bloods” and “Daredevil,” functioning as an “applicant.” However, despite his qualifications, he wasn’t given supervisory roles; instead, less experienced workers were promoted before him, a fact stated in the lawsuit. Even after becoming eligible for a pension plan in 2018, he was denied union membership for another six years, as per the suit.

During this time, Local 52 unjustifiably allowed numerous other people into the union due to nepotism and friendship rather than Mr. Bishop and other potential members, leading to the lawsuit. This unfair treatment resulted in financial losses and emotional distress for Mr. Bishop over the years he was prevented from joining the union unjustly.

IATSE declined to comment.

Previously, the New York State Attorney General’s office carried out an investigation into IATSE Local 52. In 2014, they found that the admission process was heavily influenced by nepotism, leading to a disproportionate exclusion of Black and Latino applicants. As part of a settlement, the union agreed to pay a $475,000 fine and accept external monitoring for three years. However, it’s important to note that the union did not admit any wrongdoing in this case.

52 Local reached a new agreement in the year 2022, promising they would not preferentially assign production jobs to cardholders over non-members by breaking the law (illegal bumping).

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In 2022, Local 52 made another commitment, vowing that they wouldn’t unfairly give production jobs to cardholders instead of non-members through illegal means (bumping).

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Local 52 entered a fresh accord in the year 2022, swearing not to illegally prioritize giving production jobs to cardholders over non-members (unfair bumping).

In Bishop’s class action lawsuit, it is claimed that the union persists in denying membership to workers who meet the criteria, despite their eligibility for the health plan. This situation, in turn, makes them immediately eligible. The lawsuit further alleges that supervisory members maintain control over hiring and firing decisions, following unspoken rules that seem to favor those with union cards.

As a passionate cinephile, I’ve come across this interesting assertion: “In certain situations, cardholding crew members are allowed to displace non-cardholding ones when the former require employment.

In September 2024, Bishop, a Black individual, initiated an individual discrimination lawsuit against Local 52 and multiple studios such as Netflix, Amazon, HBO, and CBS. His legal representative, Fred Charles, later decided to discard that claim and instead re-file a class action suit based on federal labor law, following reports of individuals of all races being denied membership.

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2025-05-28 20:46