Striking Unions File Grievance Over Areas For Picketing

Hollywood's striking Writers Guild of America (WGA) and SAG-AFTRA actors' union filed a grievance with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against Comcast's NBCUniversal on Tuesday, accusing the company of blocking a picket area.

The unions said NBCUniversal infringed its freedom to picket and endangered its members by obstructing a public sidewalk next to the company's studio lot in California with an ongoing construction project.

The WGA's complaint said NBCUniversal "forced picketers to patrol in busy streets with significant car traffic where two picketers have already been struck by a car."

SAG-AFTRA said members had been forced "to picket at the unsafe crowded location, exacerbating the dire public safety situation to interfere with striking members' right to engage in the protected, concerted activity of picketing and patrolling outside the employer's premises during a lawful strike."

Just-Trimmed trees near Universal Studios offer picketers no protection from hot sun

 According to Deadline, SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikers were shocked to discover that the lush Ficus trees outside of Universal Studios, which provided them with much-needed shade in the midst of climbing temperatures, had been pruned over the weekend.  Pine trees on the opposite side of the street remained untouched, as did the pepper trees near the production gate. 

In a statement released to the outlet, Universal denied intentionally creating obstacles for the strikers. “We understand that the safety tree trimming of the Ficus trees we did on Barham Blvd. has created unintended challenges for demonstrators, that was not our intention. In partnership with licensed arborists, we have pruned these trees annually at this time of year to ensure that the canopies are light ahead of the high wind season. We support the WGA and SAG’s right to demonstrate, and are working to provide some shade coverage. We continue to openly communicate with the labor leaders on-site to work together during this time,” the statement reads.