Studio Looks to Housing Project in Hiring Push

Universal Studios Hollywood, in an effort to hire disabled workers for entry-level jobs during its busiest seasons, turned to public housing in Pacoima Wednesday.

Studio representatives at San Fernando Gardens, the only major public housing project in the San Fernando Valley, began screening job applicants for a federally funded program to help Universal hire 700 workers over the next five years.

It was the first time a major studio has recruited workers at a public housing project, officials said, and is symbolic of a new push by the city and studios into job recruitment and training in inner-city areas.

In Universal Studios’ employee search program, at least half of those hired must live in a federal empowerment zone such as Pacoima and have a disability, such as a substance abuse problem, organizers said.

The jobs include cook, cashier, admissions host, parking lot attendant and ticket seller. The expected starting salary is minimum wage: $5.15 an hour now, rising to $5.75 in California as of March.

“That’s OK,” said Sergio Flores, 17, who said he has used a wheelchair since being shot in the back during a gang dispute in Watts last year. “I want to be a lawyer. . . . I need money for college.”