Investigation finds favoritism re: Teamsters’ movie production jobs

The bright lights and bright stars of Hollywood movie productions may be dimming for Philadelphia Teamsters.

The bright lights and bright stars of Hollywood movie productions may be dimming for Philadelphia Teamsters.

An investigation into the local union (Local 107) by the national Independent Review Board shows favoritism when handing out job assignments.

As a result, the local is considering pulling out of the movie business.

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Following complaints from union workers who say they were shut out of movie production jobs, the Teamster’s Independent Review Board conducted an investigation. Its report cites examples of truck drivers with seniority passed over in favor of friends or family of the local’s upper management.

Truck driver Frank Gizzi, who’s now retired, says the local does not follow its own hiring guidelines when assigning highly desirable jobs.

Gizzi:
The base pay is 2500 a week, plus overtime. You don’t pay for meals. It more than a plum job, that’s why they make it out like there’s just a few disgruntled members. There are poeple going to the Labor Board, they are not getting work and they feel they should.

The president of Local 107 was not available for comment. The local had been investigated in 2000 for the same complaint. According to the Review Board’s new report, the president of the local recently sent a letter to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters requesting to no longer be responsible for job assignments on movie sets.