Universal Studios gets heat for allegedly trimming trees that gave SAG strikers shade in 90-degree weather

Los Angeles picketers are scattered between several studio lots

Universal Studios has received backlash for allegedly pruning the trees that shaded striking actors and writers, protecting them from California’s high temperatures.

Follow here for real-time updates regarding the actors’ strike

On Thursday (12 July), the actors’ union, SAG-AFTRA, approved its membership of over 150,000 TV and film actors to join their fellow screenwriters’ union, the Writers Guild of America (WGA), on the picket line beginning Friday (13 July).

Since then, strikes have been ongoing in front of at least seven different studios across Los Angeles including Universal, Warner Bros, Netflix, Paramount, and Fox.

On Monday (17 July), comic Chris Stephens shared a tweet accusing Universal Studios of trimming the trees that lined the street near the lot.

“Quick shoutout to the good people at @UniversalPics for trimming the trees that gave our picket line shade right before a 90+ degree week,” he wrote in the caption.

Several supporters responded in the comments, finding the timing “shady”.

“They just killed a bunch of trees to be axxholes to people striking,” one wrote, with a second arguing: “Nobody prunes in July.”

A third shared an excerpt from a tree pruning guide from The Los Angeles Times, which advised against “pruning landscape trees in mid-to late summer (July, August and September)” because “you can induce an off-season growth spurt, which can leave some species, such as ficus, vulnerable to freeze damage”.

“If you are upset these ficus were pruned out of season to punish strikers call the city!” another wrote, alongside the number of the Bureau of Street Services’s Urban Forestry Division.

The Independent has contacted Universal Studios for comment.

Los Angeles is currently facing average temperatures of 88 degrees Fahrenheit (31 Celsius) this week, with an expected peak of 91 degrees (32 Celsius) Fahrenheit by Friday (21 July).

However, despite these high temperatures, actors have remained committed to picketing against streamers and studios after negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) broke down last week.

And with no end in sight, actors are prepared for “the long haul”, according to SAG president and star of Nineties sitcom The Nanny, Fran Drescher.

“Right now, we discussed what it would cost if it went for six months, so we’re looking for the long haul,” Drescher said at a press conference on Thursday (13 July).

“The gravity of a commitment like this is not lost on any of us. It’s major. But we also see that we have no future and no livelihood unless we take this action, unfortunately.”

The WGA has been on strike since early May. Both it and the SAG demand increases in base pay and residuals in the streaming TV era, plus assurances that their work will not be replaced by artificial intelligence (AI).