Teamsters Protest Runaway Production

Hundreds of teamsters rallied against runaway production in Century City on November 14, challenging Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger to stem the flow of production dollars leaving California. The crowd shut down part of Avenue of the Stars with big rigs and production trucks. "We've got 1500 drivers out of work," Teamster Local 399 business agent Steve Dayan said to the Hollywood Reporter. "People are suffering here, and we want to urge our Legislature and federal government to bring our jobs back." Teamsters Local 399 was joined by several California lawmakers at the rally, including state Senator Sheila Kuehl, state Assemblymen Herb Wesson and Paul Koretz, state Senator Richard Alarcon, Los Angeles city councilman Martin Ludlow and former Assemblyman Scott Wildman. The state lawmakers promised to take steps to stop runaway production. Kuehl said she was about to introduce new legislation this year to keep production in the state, and that she was consulting with union and industry representatives this month. The rally was held in front of the St. Regis Hotel, where payroll services company Axium International planned to hold a symposium on the benefits of taking advantage of Canadian production tax incentives. The event was cancelled without explanation two weeks ago, and union leaders believe that their pressure was a contributing cause.