Los Angeles City Controller Launches Investigation into Alleged Retaliation Against Writers and Actors on Picket Lines

Los Angeles City Officials are investigating whether a Hollywood studio resorted to shady measures to retaliate against writers and actors on the picket lines. On Tuesday, City Controller Kenneth Mejia announced the office’s investigation on Twitter, sharing before and after photos of the trees. The before photos showed fuller trees with leaves and the after photos showed the trees’ barren limbs.

Members of the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents thousands of Hollywood actors, are on strike after the unions and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers failed to reach an agreement on a new contract. Members of both unions have been picketing outside Universal Studios and NBCUniversal’s lot, where they suspect the studio trimmed trees along a sidewalk, preventing them from receiving shade, as temperatures heat up.

“Our Office is investigating the tree trimming that occurred outside Universal Studios where workers, writers, and actors are exercising their right to picket,” Mejia wrote.

The investigation comes as rising temperatures have created dangerously hot conditions during the writers and actors strikes. Members of both unions have been picketing outside Universal Studios and NBCUniversal’s lot, where they suspect the studio trimmed trees along a sidewalk, preventing them from receiving shade, as temperatures heat up.

The investigation is ongoing and it is unclear whether the studio was responsible for the tree trimming. However, the incident has sparked outrage among union members and has highlighted the need for better working conditions for writers and actors.