Dispatches From The Picket Lines: Thousands Descend On NBCUniversal After Sidewalk Controversy

Lynette Rice, Justin Kroll and Peter White
·4 min read
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This is Day 95 of the WGA strike and Day 22 of the SAG-AFTRA strike

NBCUniversal has been at the center of a number of controversies involving its picket line over the last few months.

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The studio was accused of malicious tree-trimming and construction has caused chaos as writers and actors have attempted to picket at the FBI studio.

Today saw thousands of WGA and SAG-AFTRA members celebrate a new pavement with freshly poured asphalt and the removal of fencing in what is thought to be one of the biggest collection of picketers in LA since the strike(s) began.

“This is what democracy looks like,” the crowd chanted.

Its numbers were bolstered by the fact that SAG-AFTRA members weren’t picketing at Warner Bros. Discovery or Disney today, although WGA was at all locations.

A jovial mood saw actors such as Modern Family’s Eric Stonestreet and American Gods’ Ricky Whittle attend the picket line, which had a large police presence.

It appeared that the picket line was closed down early as a result of the turnout as many writers and actors flooded into the streets.

“Our picketers have taken over the streets,” said SAG-AFTRA chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland amid a backdrop of police sirens. “While we’re not supposed to be out here in the street, this is how strongly our members feel about getting a fair contract. We’re going to get everybody out of the middle of the street now, but just know this tells you how strong our members feel, how important this issue is and we’re going to do what it takes to get a fair, equitable and respectful contract.”

The massive picket line comes after the WGA and SAG-AFTRA filed National Labor Relations Board complaints against the studio, accusing it of interfering with picketing activity by covering the sidewalks with construction fencing and making it unsafe to walk near the studio, as well as a petition that was signed by over 20,000 people.

SAG-AFTRA Secretary-Treasurer Joely Fisher told Deadline that it was an “emotional” day.

“I came here week one and I was able to walk the whole length of the studio and then suddenly they didn’t want us here so desperately they had to make it unsafe. They moved the sidewalks and put up scaffolding and if that wasn’t bad enough, they cut down the trees to take away our shade,” she said.

Paul LeClaire, who has been a SAG member since 1968 and has appeared on series such as General Hospital, said that it’s all about “solidarity”. “We had a problem here before because they put up these barricades like they were doing construction, but they weren’t doing construction. They were blocking the sidewalk so the picketers couldn’t walk,” he told Deadline. “I guess push came to shove and they created this walkway for us today.”

There were mixed feelings about today’s talks between the WGA and AMPTP.

Jeri Ryan, who has starred in series including Star Trek: Picard and Bosch, said “Any movement is positive.”

Lynette Rice/Deadline
Lynette Rice/Deadline

LeClaire believes it’s “smoke and mirrors.”

“They didn’t even invite [SAG-AFTRA]. They just invited the [WGA] and my take on it is that they feel that the writers have been on strike for three months and they’re ready to crack and are ready to take whatever they offer.”

The crowd was as tall as it was wide, for some. Madeleine Falk, who has been a SAG card carrier since 1996, is a member of variety troupe Girls on Stilts and has appeared in series including CSI.

She was on stilts, obviously. “You really feel the power of the people coming together,” she told Deadline. “I am a variety performer, I just figured I’d bring a little extra attention to [the strike].”

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