POLITICO California Playbook PM: LA’s starring role in labor unrest

Jun 07, 2023

SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER: Hollywood screenwriters who went on strike last month could soon be joined on the picket line by their colleagues from the other side of the camera.

SAG-AFTRA — the union that represents more than 160,000 television and movie actors — and representatives from the major studios and streaming platforms are scheduled to kick off negotiations today on a new contract to replace the one that expires June 30. The talks come two days after union members overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike if a deal can’t be hammered out.

The SAG-AFTRA strike authorization doesn’t guarantee actors will join writers in a work stoppage that has already crippled production and put the future of many of our favorite shows in jeopardy. The Directors Guild of America reached a tentative deal with the studios on Sunday that includes improved wages and a promise that its members will not be replaced by artificial intelligence, one of the sticking points in the dispute between writers and the studios.

But a significant dispute remains over how actors share revenue generated by streaming platforms, making these negotiations more complicated.

Like the writers union, SAG-AFTRA is asking media giants to guarantee that actors will earn more residual payments for their appearances in streaming content. Residuals have long been an essential part of the acting profession, providing income long after a project has ended, but have dwindled in recent years with the decline of television reruns.

Actor Jeff Torres joins picketers outside Warner Bros. Studios during a Writers Guild rally on Wednesday, May 24, 2023, in Burbank, Calif. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

Actor Jeff Torres joins picketers outside Warner Bros. Studios during a Writers Guild rally on Wednesday, May 24, 2023, in Burbank, Calif. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel) | AP

The Hollywood labor unrest is helping to make California in general, and Los Angeles specifically, a focal point of union activity.

The University of California experienced the largest campus strike in U.S. history last fall after student workers and postdocs walked off the job. Support staff and teachers in the Los Angeles and Oakland school districts shut down campuses for days before winning contracts that afforded them double-digit percentage raises.

Port workers from Long Beach to Oakland have shut down massive trade hubs multiple times this year, as members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union have been without a contract since July.

And yet another strike looms on the horizon. Unite Here Local 11, which represents around 15,000 hotel workers across Southern California, is asking its members to vote on a strike authorization Thursday. Contracts with 62 hotels are set to expire on June 30, just as the travel season starts to heat up.

HAPPY WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON! Welcome to California Playbook PM, a POLITICO newsletter that serves as an afternoon temperature check of California politics and a look at what our policy reporters are watching. Got tips or suggestions? Shoot an email to anieves@politico.com or send a shout on Twitter. DMs are open!

PLAYBOOK TRIVIA NIGHT! Think you know a lot about politics? PROVE IT! Compete in California Playbook’s inaugural Trivia Night. Grab a drink, kick back, and put your knowledge on display! Join top political power players on Wednesday, June 21st at Fox & Goose Public House for a night of fun and competition that you won’t want to miss. REGISTER HERE.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TODAY

SANCTUARY STATE: Gov. Ron DeSantis can rest assured that he won’t face arrest when he makes a fundraising stop in California this month. Gov. Gavin Newsom dismissed that idea as “hyperbole” as he responded to a question about Florida’s transporting two small groups of migrants to California, which Newsom said earlier could amount to kidnapping. DeSantis says his state sent the migrants to California by charter plane to call attention to the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border. Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta accused the Florida governor of transporting the migrants under false pretenses and have said people involved could face criminal charges. Newsom brushed off the suggestion that DeSantis could face arrest, but he and Bonta have said that people involved in the transport could face criminal charges. Newsom said this morning on the “Today” show that the state isn’t “backing away from getting the facts, and holding those accountable if they broke the laws of the state of California.”

On The Beats

EAGER FOR BEAVERS: Beavers are having a moment in California. The large rodents are eco-engineers that can help store water and improve forest health, making them allies to Democrats and Republicans. Over the past two years, they’ve become the focus of a new team of state scientists and the beneficiaries of millions in restoration dollars. They’re less beloved when clogging up irrigation ditches or flooding ranches. New rules issued this week by the Fish and Wildlife Department, however, will require that nonlethal methods of control be employed as a first resort. The new policy by Director Chuck Bonham is not only part of a surge of interest in beavers for their work on water and forests, but a gradual statewide shift toward coexistence with nuisance animals like mountain lions and wolves. — Camille von Kaenel

LUNCH MONEY: It’s a good day for students who want a seat at the table. Three bills that change how school boards in California operate cleared the Senate Education Committee today without ruffling any feathers. One would allow students to be compensated for serving on their school boards with money, course credit or both. State senators also said yes to establishing a statewide right for student members on community college boards to cast an advisory vote on proposals. Students in special education programs, juvenile court schools and other alternative institutions would also be allowed to serve on their county education boards under an update to past legislation. The committee unanimously passed these bills without discussion, reflecting a lack of controversy around making school board leadership more accessible for students. — Saliha Bayrak

GET READY FOR GLOBAL TECH DAY: Join POLITICO Live as we launch our first Global Tech Day alongside London Tech Week on Thursday, June 15. Register now for continuing updates and to be a part of this momentous and program-packed day! From the blockchain, to AI, and autonomous vehicles, technology is changing how power is exercised around the world, so who will write the rules? REGISTER HERE.

AROUND CALIFORNIA

— “Renters dominate California — but they are struggling to survive,” by The Los Angeles Times’ Terry Castleman: Evelyn Arceo holds down a full-time job as a baker at Universal Studios Hollywood, earning $19 an hour. But even when she gets a few hours of overtime at the theme park, the single mother of four can barely afford the rent of her one-bedroom apartment in Panorama City.

— “S.F.’s hotel pain could spread as more than 30 owners face mortgage deadlines,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Roland Li: Park Hotels & Resorts’ plan to surrender ownership of two of San Francisco’s biggest hotels reflects the city’s slow tourism recovery and the widening financial distress hitting local property owners.

The company plans to give up nearly 3,000 hotel rooms in the Hilton San Francisco Union Square and Parc 55 properties. Its expected $725 million loan default appears to be the largest U.S. hotel default during the pandemic.

MIXTAPE

— “Researchers find why San Andreas fault hasn’t caused a big earthquake in L.A. — yet,” by The Washington Post’s Kasha Patel.

— “Oakland A’s stadium bill to be considered in special session in Nevada Legislature after all,” by The Mercury News’ Laurence Miedema and Shomik Mukherjee.

— “Why Fresno? This California downtown has a $250 million earmark in Gavin Newsom’s budget,” by CalMatters’ Nicole Foy.

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