An Unexpected and Petty Twist in the SAG-AFTRA/WGA Strikes Is Forcing Us All To Become Tree Law Detectives

Well, as if we needed more reasons to be mad at the studios, instead of paying their creatives or even just respecting their basic right to strike, it appears they’re being petty. And now everyone on the internet has been forced to become experts in tree law.

Outside of Universal Pictures, someone heavily pruned the trees lining the sidewalk. Those trees were providing participants in the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes some necessary shade from the very high temperatures in Los Angeles right now. Also, the pruning also happened out of season, as this kind of work is supposed to be done in the fall and winter. All of which has led a lot of people to the pretty obvious conclusion that this might have been done as a direct attack on striking workers.

In a statement provided to Deadline, Universal admitted they did order the pruning but claimed it was an annual trimming and said it “was not [their] intention” to create “unintended challenges for demonstrators.” Uh huh.

No matter what, this really sucks because that was shade that the strikers really needed in this heat and someone went out of their way to prune trees at a really *convenient* time.

Why did you think it was OK to do this in the first place?

Who owns and is responsible for maintaining trees and other landscaping on city sidewalks varies in different areas. But if these trees are city property and if this was done without the permission of the city, there could be some illegal activity happening by pruning the trees out of season, which has the potential to damage or even kill them. Boom! Tree law.

If you do know the tree law facts at play here, please let us know whether or not this is illegal because we are extremely curious! But either way, it’s not OK overall, given that it’s hard to believe it wasn’t a direct response to those striking. That’s inhumane, that’s bad for the environment, and it’s just genuinely a bad thing to do.

(featured image: Comedy Central)

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Rachel Leishman

Rachel Leishman (She/Her) is an Assistant Editor at the Mary Sue. She's been a writer professionally since 2016 but was always obsessed with movies and television and writing about them growing up. A lover of Spider-Man and Wanda Maximoff's biggest defender, she has interests in all things nerdy and a cat named Benjamin Wyatt the cat. If you want to talk classic rock music or all things Harrison Ford, she's your girl but her interests span far and wide. Yes, she knows she looks like Florence Pugh. She has multiple podcasts, normally has opinions on any bit of pop culture, and can tell you can actors entire filmography off the top of her head. Her current obsession is Glen Powell's dog, Brisket. Her work at the Mary Sue often includes Star Wars, Marvel, DC, movie reviews, and interviews.

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