Tuesday, November 09, 1999
Disabled stagehand wins 2nd time against union
BY BEN L. KAUFMAN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
A federal magistrate has rejected challenges to a theater technician's $73,810 discrimination verdict against his union.
P. Alan Ropp, 43, of Anderson Township sued the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employ ees, Cincinnati Stage Employees Local No. 5 for not referring him to jobs after a mountain-climbing injury left him with balance and speech problems.
The union challenged the July 1998 jury verdict, asking Magistrate Judge Jack Sherman Jr. to overturn it or grant a new trial.
Last week, Magistrate Sherman affirmed the verdict and awarded $51,565 to Mr. Popp's trial attorney, Peter A. Burr.
Mr. Burr said the verdict was the only one he knew of against a union hiring hall under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Mr. Ropp fell while climbing a mountain in the former Soviet Union in 1988. He told jurors that the union refused to refer him for jobs even though medical evidence indicated he could work if his disabilities were reasonably accommodated.
Union witnesses cited medical reports that indicated Mr. Ropp could not handle available assignments safely. Those involved climbing ladders, working on catwalks and working in the dark, union attorney Thomas Korbee said, and the union could not responsibly refer him for such jobs.
Local 5 represents stage employees for productions at the Aronoff Center, Riverbend, Firstar Center and other venues.
In the meantime, Mr. Ropp has taken a job with the Postal Service.
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