Minorities claim discrimination in union, venue hiring practices. (Media & Technology).

Gilbert Becerril jumped at the chance to join the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees three decades ago through a new affirmative action program at the union.

The program was mandated by the U.S. Department of Justice, which investigated Hollywood in 1969 and found a broad pattern of discriminatory hiring practices behind the cameras.

Since then, scores of minorities have joined IATSE's Burbank-based Local 33, and its current president, Ted Zachary, is African American.

But last month, Becerril, 56, and six other union veterans, all minorities, sued IATSE, claiming, in essence, that the gains of the past are being eroded by the union's present policies.

"Now that we've been here for 30 years and made it to the top they want to pull the carpet out from under us," Becerril said. "Our incomes are suffering dramatically because we are not getting the calls we should be getting."

In a lawsuit filed July 24 in Los Angeles Superior Court, Becerril and the other plaintiffs alleged a pattern of favoritism in job assignments that has slowed their advancement and prevented them from earning as much as their white counterparts.

Lawyers for the seven are seeking class action status for the suit, which also names a handful of companies that operate local concert and theater venues.

At issue is a bylaw in the constitution of Local 33 that allows private employers to pay a token fee -- sometimes as little as $1 - to the union to bypass seniority rules in order to hire specific individuals.

Those union members "tend to be friends or relatives of the department heads and of the same race," according to the suit.

"Many union members, including but not limited to African Americans and Latinos, are routinely not hired in the same numbers and proportions as white union members. Moreover, less experienced Caucasian union members routinely fill jobs that should be filled by more senior minority union members," the plaintiffs allege in the suit.

The lawsuit also names the union's national organization, based in New York, as well as the city and county of Los Angeles, Universal Studios Productions, Anschutz Entertainment Group, House of Blues Entertainment Inc. and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association. According to the suit, the operators of venues such as Staples Center, the Hollywood Bowl, the Music Center and Universal Amphitheatre went along with and even encouraged the discriminatory practices.

"Over time, it's become clear that what is going on is discriminatory. And you can measure that in the disparity of the income," said Steven Blum, an attorney representing the plaintiffs.

Jack Gannon, vice president of marketing for House of Blues Entertainment, said his company will vigorously defend the lawsuit.

"We believe the claims are meritless, and in the end House of Blues will be absolved of any and all liability," Gannon said.

Spokeswomen for the Philharmonic and Universal declined to comment on the charges. Officials for the other named defendants, including IATSE, did not return phone calls.

Ghosts of the past

Members of IATSE, founded in 1893, include lighting technicians, set painters, camera operators, carpenters, prop handlers, makeup artists and other behind-the-scenes entertainment industry workers. The national union counts more than 100,000 members, with about 1,500 of those affiliated with Local 33.

All the plaintiffs are union members who are either Hispanic or black and all belong to Local 33. Like Becerril, several joined the union in the early 1970s after the Department of Justice investigation.

The Department of Justice jumped in after an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission probe uncovered a pattern of race discrimination in the film and television industry. Other unions were also forced to change their hiring policies, as were the three networks at that time, ABC, CBS and NBC.

At the root of the discriminatory practices, Becerril claims, is a 1985 rule change in Local 33's constitution that allows theater managers to hire more than one "assistant."

Until 1985, union rules permitted venues to bypass seniority to select one union member of their choice, Blum said. After 1985, the rule was amended to allow the hiring of numerous assistants. The result, according to Becerril, is that the union and venue operators are free to hire their friends and, in some cases, relatives -- to the detriment of the union's minority employees.

Becerril says he's earned between $60,000 and $80,000 over the past few years, while many white union members with the same experience are making $120,000 or more.

While white union workers with the same or less experience routinely get the plum jobs, Becerril said minorities are often left to wait for less lucrative assignments on an on-call basis.

"When you have to go up to a guy to tell him what to do and he's an 'assistant' earning more money than you, it's not right. Enough is enough," Becerril said.

In addition to alleging violations of the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, the plaintiffs have charged the union and the venue operators with unfair business practices and intentional infliction of emotional distress. They're seeking to overturn the union policy allowing employers to bypass seniority rules, and they're also asking for unspecified monetary damages.

Blum and partners Karen Clark and Paul Cass, all based in Los Angeles, have another discrimination suit pending against Fox Entertainment and Fox Sports regarding allegedly discriminatory workplace conditions and civil rights violations.

As of last week, neither IATSE nor any of the venue operators had filed a formal response to the lawsuit.