Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia says his office is now investigating NBC Universal for trimming trees outside of its studio entrance on Lankershim blvd.
The trees were apparently trimmed over the weekend, a move members of the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA say is intended to interfere with picket lines of the ongoing strike by removing shade during a heat wave. NBCUniversal denies this.
Mejia noted in a statement, posted in several tweets Tuesday afternoon, that the trimming happened “where workers, writers, and actors are exercising their right to picket,” and that these trees aren’t NBCUniversal property at all, are instead managed by the city of Los Angeles.
He also noted that businesses can apply for a permit to trim trees, but normal maintenance is conducted by a StreetsLA Urban Forestry Division crew, or as part of a Council Districts allotment of trees to trim. He also added that trees should be trimmed every 5 years, which was underscored by attached photos showing what the trees looked like before and after NBCU had the trees trimmed, which indicated the trees had not meaningfully become overgrown.
Meija did however concede that a 2019 StreetsLA audit revealed several technological and resource deficiencies that had caused severe delays in trimming cycles in parts of the city.
Earlier, the two guilds filed complaints against NBCU with the National Labor Relations Board, in which they accused the company of erecting fences around construction project adjacent to the street in order to block access to the sidewalk near the Studio gate.
“We strongly believe that the company has fulfilled our legal obligations under the National Labor Relations Act [NLRA] and we will cooperate with respect to any inquiries by the National Labor Relations Board on this issue,” NBCUniversal said in a statement. “While we understand the timing of our multi-year construction project has created challenges for demonstrators, we continue to work with public agencies to increase access.”
For those wondering, the City Controller is the paymaster, auditor and chief accounting officer for the city of Los Angeles, with a mandate to provide transparency on city policies, operations and data.
