Posts tagged Los Angeles
Hearst Magazines Union stages walkout after WGA East contract expires
February 3, 2026 // Members of the Writers Guild of America East at Hearst Magazines staged a half-day walkout Tuesday after negotiations with management failed to produce a second collective bargaining agreement before their contract expired. The action affects roughly 400 union members whose first contract expired Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. Workers held walkouts and rallies at Hearst Tower in Manhattan as well as at Hearst offices in Los Angeles; Easton, Pennsylvania; Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Birmingham, Alabama.
Labor standoff at LA’s Loyola Marymount University a battle over Catholic teaching
February 1, 2026 // On the pages LMU published profiling the dispute, the institution defends its action by stating “invocation of the religious exemption is lawful, grounded in the U.S. Constitution, and consistent with Supreme Court and NLRB precedent. This right cannot be waived and may be exercised at any point.” “The Board reached this decision to protect LMU’s Catholic mission, its students, and its long-term sustainability,” Griff McNerney, LMU’s senior director of media and public relations, told OSV News in an e-mailed statement. “After months of discernment, trustees concluded that direct partnership with faculty — without SEIU’s involvement — would enable faster, more mission-aligned progress toward shared goals.” McNerney noted, “From December 2024 to Summer 2025, LMU reviewed 39 proposals and made counterproposals, none of which were accepted by the union.”
Why SAG-AFTRA’s 2026 Contract Talks Matter for Los Angeles and the Business of Hollywood
January 29, 2026 // Artificial intelligence looms as perhaps the most complex issue on the table. Advances in voice replication, digital doubles and performance synthesis have raised concerns that actors’ likenesses could be reused without meaningful consent or compensation. Astin characterized AI as an immediate labor issue rather than a speculative one, particularly in a market like Los Angeles, where background performers, day players and voice actors form a large part of the workforce.
2028 Olympics could bring big wins for Los Angeles labor unions
January 25, 2026 // “We are going to have a force ... of working people to do whatever it takes, including striking if we have to during the Olympics in 2028,” Petersen said. “The Olympics can’t happen without the workers.” A coalition of labor groups, community organizations and religious institutions are pushing for the Los Angeles Olympics organizing committee — known as LA28 — and the city to pay for building 50,000 housing units, pass a moratorium on short-term rentals like Airbnb, and protect immigrant workers.
California teachers unions consider strikes amid ongoing contract disputes
December 15, 2025 // There are at least 14 school districts around the state that are at an impasse with teachers unions over contract negotiations. They are: Los Angeles Unified, San Francisco Unified, Oakland Unified, Berkeley Unified, Madera Unified, Evergreen School District, Little Lake City, Upper Lake Unified, Duarte Unified, Newport-Mesa Unified, Oak Grove Union, Apple Valley Unified, Twin Rivers Unified and Natomas Unified.
‘Abbott Elementary’ Production Assistants Unanimously Vote to Unionize
December 15, 2025 // Twelve workers in total may be impacted by the vote, though the employer may still file objections to union certification in the next few days and the eligibility of one potential member has been questioned and will be decided at a later date. The show represents the fourth Warner Bros. Television production that the union has successfully organized this year. Production Assistants United previously unionized The Pitt (where it now has a labor contract) and on Dec. 4 won NLRB elections for the shows All American and Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage.
California union leader pleads not guilty to charges after LA ICE protest arrest
December 2, 2025 // According to a Homeland Security Investigation officer's sworn affidavit, Huerta sat in front of a vehicular gate to a staging ground for ICE operations that were ongoing nearby. The officer claims Huerta refused orders to clear the scene and asked fellow protesters to join him in blocking the gate. The interaction turned physical, DHS claims, and Huerta was briefly hospitalized as a result. Gov. Gavin Newsom denounced his arrest and called Huerta a "respected leader, a patriot, and an advocate for working people."
CSU uses loan to pay employees, sparking faculty and union protests
November 21, 2025 // CSU unionized faculty and staff assembled on Tuesday to demand the CSU use a $144 million state loan to meet their requests rather than distribute a one-time employee payment. The CSU announced in October that it would use the loan to compensate employees, sparking disagreement among faculty who want the loan to go toward programs, college budgets, raises and more.
Hollywood Guilds Make Historic Push to Unionize YouTube Content Studio Theorist Media (Exclusive)
November 17, 2025 // A new organizing drive from the Motion Picture Editors Guild and the Writers Guild of America West strives to make inroads in the exploding creator economy. The labor groups are attempting to unionize Theorist Media, the digital media production company behind popular YouTube channels like The Game Theorists, The Food Theorists, The Film Theorists and others, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
Starbucks workers union planning pickets, rallies through Nov. 2. See in which states
October 27, 2025 // Starbucks, for its part, says it is willing to bargain with the union, which the company says represents about 9,500 of its "partners," or employees. "Workers United only represents around 4% of our partners but chose to walk away from the bargaining table. If they’re ready to come back, we’re ready to talk," corporate spokesperson Jaci Anderson said in a statement to USA TODAY. "Any agreement needs to reflect the reality that Starbucks already offers the best job in retail including more than $30 an hour on average in pay and benefits for hourly partners," Anderson said. "We’re investing over $500 million to put more partners in stores during busy times. The facts show people like working at Starbucks. Partner engagement is up, turnover is nearly half the industry average, and we get more than 1 million job applications a year.”