Stage workers’ union in war over leadership

Alana Roberts

Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2004 | 10:43 a.m.

Documents filed in federal court say two trustees, appointed by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) to run IATSE Local 720 in April 2002, have agreed to leave conditionally, following a U.S. Labor Department investigation.

On Aug. 13, a group of former Local 720 leaders, who were replaced by the international trustees, filed a second motion for preliminary injunction in U.S. District Court, in order to stop the trustees from implementing a new constitution before leaving. Both sides agree a new constitution is needed, according to court records, but the former Local 720 leaders don't agree with the version mailed to workers in a mail-in election.

A hearing for the motion for preliminary injunction is set for Sept. 14.

The former leaders filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in March 2003 opposing the way the international union placed the 1,600-member union under trusteeship. The union has been led by Robert Trombetta and Dennis Brook, two international union-appointed trustees, for 28 months. In August 2003 Chief U.S. District Court Judge Howard McKibben denied the former union leader's first preliminary injunction that sought to remove the trustees. McKibben ruled no irreparable harm would come to the union under the trustees' leadership.

However, the former Local 720 leaders now allege the period that the trustees have been in charge is well over the 18 months allowed under the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959. A complaint was filed with the Labor Department disputing the trusteeship's continuation in November.

The group of former leaders is made up mostly of executive board members who ran the union until the international revoked the union's charter alleging financial misconduct and a "complete breakdown in the democratic processes of the local," the international said in separate lawsuit.

The international union agreed to remove the trustees from leadership of local 720 after a Labor Department investigation found that there was no "clear and convincing" evidence for the trusteeship to continue beyond the 18 months, the former leaders said in court documents.

However, the international union then said it wouldn't remove the trustees until the group dropped the lawsuit. The group has said it won't drop the lawsuit.

The former leaders say that the international again has agreed to remove the trustees under a threat of a Labor Department lawsuit. The trustees would withdraw following a Labor Department-run election to implement a new slate of leaders.

The former leaders believe the new constitution will allow the international to continue controlling Local 720 even after the trustees leave.

However, the international union argued in an Aug. 31 court filing that the constitution was prepared by a committee of union members and is based on one drawn up under the previous leadership. The international argued that in January, the Labor Department did determine that the trusteeship was necessary to fixing problems within the union.

Trombetta and Brook, the trustees, referred questions to IATSE spokeswoman Lindajo Loftus. Loftus declined to commend on the pending litigation.

Deanne Amaden, a Labor Department spokeswoman, would neither confirm or deny whether the agency is investigating the way in which the union's international leaders revoked Local 720's charter and placed it in trusteeship.

Ballots in a mail-in election to approve or reject the new constitution were counted on Aug. 25, and the international union alleges in a court filing that 60 percent of the 572 members who voted approved the new constitution.

However, Michael Urban, an attorney for the former Local 720 leaders, said he is skeptical of that contention. He said it remains uncertain when the trustees will leave, although the Labor Department has suggested Jan. 1.

"The Department of Labor has said Jan. 1 should be the day, but I don't know in light of the constitution. Our primary interest is to have that date for them to leave enforced and that the election and transition of control of Local 720 be done in a fair and orderly fashion," Urban said.