Performers union SAG-AFTRA is celebrating a key victory this week: the passage of a bill that would regulate the use of artificial intelligence in the local entertainment industry.

The California Senate on Tuesday passed Assembly Bill 2602, a measure that would forbid employers from using AI-generated digital replicas in lieu of human performers under certain circumstances.

If the bill is signed into law, employers would not be allowed to use an AI version of a performer’s voice or likeness if such usage replaces work that the performer could have done in person; if the contract of employment doesn’t specify how the digital replica will be used (provided that usage deviates from already agreed upon terms); and if the performer did not have legal or union representation when the deal was made.

The bill, approved 37-1 by the Senate, is now headed to the governor’s office, where Gavin Newsom will decide whether to sign it into law.

“We are thrilled that one of our top legislative priorities, bill AB 2602 has passed in the State of California,” said Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, national executive director and chief negotiator of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

“The bill which protects not only SAG-AFTRA performers but all performers, is a huge step forward. Voice and likeness rights, in an age of digital replication, must have strong guardrails around licensing to protect from abuse, this bill provides those guardrails.”

AB 2602 is one of three bills SAG-AFTRA has helped draft in an effort to codify AI protections for performers into law. Some tech companies have pushed back on the legislation, urging caution against overregulation.

The union’s fight for AI restrictions extended this week to the picket lines, where striking video game actors continued to pressure developers to meet their demands.

Performers doing voice-over and motion-capture work in the video game industry participated in a demonstration on Wednesday outside of the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank as part of their ongoing contract campaign.

AI also emerged as a major sticking point during last year’s writers’ and actors’ strikes.

“SAG-AFTRA is striking this contract so that members working in interactive media (video games) can continue earning a living doing the job they love,” the union said in a statement.

“Our members’ work and likenesses are being exploited by artificial intelligence, and video game companies have refused to offer a fair deal that addresses this existential threat.”

The video game companies have expressed disappointment in the union’s decision to call a strike when the two parties were “so close to a deal,” maintaining that they are “prepared to resume negotiations.”

“We have worked hard to deliver proposals with reasonable terms that protect the rights of performers while ensuring we can continue to use the most advanced technology to create great entertainment experiences for fans,” Audrey Cooling, a spokesperson for the game companies, said in a statement Wednesday.

Times staff writer Wendy Lee contributed to this report.

Democratic vice presidential candidate and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz spoke to union firefighters and emergency medical personnel on Wednesday in Boston, insisting that Vice President Kamala Harris – not former President Donald Trump – will fight for their rights to collectively bargain, while protecting their pensions and maintaining funding for federal fire fighting resources. 

The event at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center was hosted by the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF), one of the nation’s largest labor unions that represents roughly 350,000 firefighters and emergency medical workers. 

“I can promise you this,” Walz said as he began his address. “When Vice President Harris and I win this election, we’ll have your back just like you’ve had ours this entire time.” Walz went on to describe the current Harris-Biden administration as “the most pro-labor administration in history.” 

Walz insisted that a future President Harris would bolster unions by signing into law the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, which he said would make it easier for workers to collectively bargain. The act also claims to maintain funding for the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant program and protect any attacks on defined benefit pension plans.

PRO ACT GAINS SOCIALIST SUPPORT: THE DEMOCRATIC BILL THAT WOULD CRUSH RIGHT-TO-WORK LAWS

During the address, Walz slammed Trump over his “right to work stance,” insisting Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, together want to make it harder for workers to collectively bargain.

“Everybody in this room knows ‘right to work’ means right to work for less, right to work more dangerously, right to work for no pensions,” Walz insisted.

KAMALA HARRIS AND TIM WALZ, ENDORSED BY TEACHERS UNIONS, RECEIVE FAILING GRADE FROM SCHOOL CHOICE GROUP

“The only thing [Trump and Vance] know about working people is how to take advantage of them, how to not pay them,” the Minnesota governor said. “Every single chance they’ve gotten, they’ve waged a war on workers and their ability to collectively bargain.”

Walz blamed Trump for blocking overtime benefits for workers, opposing efforts to raise the minimum wage, and slashing funding for federal fire service programs. He also sought to link the former president to the conservative nonprofit Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, which, according to Walz, aims to “screw the middle class.”

“Donald Trump [is] trying to hide from that Project 2025 plan,” Walz insisted. “They’re going to use it.”

DEM GOVERNOR TIES TRUMP TO PROJECT 2025 EVEN THOUGH HE DISAVOWED IT

The Democratic National Committee projects images on Trump Tower in Chicago, on the eve of the Democrats’ national convention, on August 18, 2024 (DNC)

Walz concluded his address by imploring everyone to tune in to the upcoming debate between Harris and Trump on Sept. 10. He conceded that many people will probably be more interested in Monday Night Football, but insisted what is said that night will impact people’s retirement, their kids’ educations and the future of the nation’s infrastructure. 

HARRIS PREPS FOR DEBATE WITH GOOGLE LAWYER, CREATING ‘CONFLICT OF INTEREST,’ TRUMP CAMPAIGN SAYS

“When Republicans used to talk about freedom, they meant it. They meant it. Not anymore, these guys over there, they want government to have the freedom to invade every corner of your life, from our union halls, to our kids, schools, even our doctor’s office,” Walz insisted Wednesday. “The vice president and I, we got a little bit different vision of this.”

Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz celebrate their nomination during the final day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago, Ill. ( Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The Democratic vice presidential nominee’s Wednesday trip to the IAFF’s 57th annual convention marked the second time he has visited Beantown in as many weeks.

More than two months after he was placed on leave by the board of California’s largest urban water supplier, embattled General Manager Adel Hagekhalil defended his performance and insisted the accusations against him are unfounded.

The board of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California met in closed session Tuesday to discuss the status of investigations into multiple complaints and voted to extend Hagekhalil’s leave of absence until Oct. 23 as the investigation continues. The leave had been scheduled to end in September.

“We understand the desire for an expedited investigation, but as difficult as this is, we believe due process is paramount above all considerations, for all parties involved,” said Adán Ortega Jr., chair of the MWD board. “We are committed to ensuring a thorough, fair and impartial investigation.”

Hagekhalil spoke to the board publicly for the first time since the agency’s leaders announced they were placing him on leave on June 13.

“I can assure you, the board and all the Metropolitan employees, that I have not committed any misconduct,” Hagekhalil said. “Everything I’ve done has always been for the best interests of Metropolitan.”

Some of the accusations surfaced in a letter to the board from Chief Financial Officer Katano Kasaine, who alleged Hagekhalil had harassed, demeaned and sidelined her and created a hostile work environment. Hagekhalil denied the accusations, saying he has always treated the staff with respect and professionalism.

“These complaints are nothing more than disagreements on management decisions,” Hagekhalil told board members. “Over 74 days ago, you unfairly placed me on leave, and as of today, I still have not been contacted about the investigation.”

Kerry Garvis Wright, a lawyer for Hagekhalil, said her client has been locked out of his email account and denied access to agency documents, “hampering his ability to prepare for his interviews in the investigations.”

“We have significant concerns about the investigative process, including but not limited to the lack of independence, lack of impartiality and the lack of confidentiality,” Wright said.

She urged the board to address the concerns promptly and reinstate Hagekhalil.

The sidelining of Hagekhalil has left in question the future leadership of the nation’s largest wholesale supplier of drinking water, which serves cities and agencies that supply 19 million people across Southern California.

In the more than three years that Hagekhalil has led the agency, he has sought to focus on adaptation to climate change, in part by reducing reliance on water supplies from distant sources and investing in local water supplies. His efforts to shift priorities at MWD have also included management changes that he and his supporters say have helped address problems of workplace harassment and retaliation.

“We have had many successes and accomplishments,” Hagekhalil said. “You tasked me to change this toxic culture and put the agency back on track. I’m proud to say we all did. We supported a culture of transparency and accountability.”

Hagekhalil said, however, that some within the agency have sought to undermine his reform efforts.

In a letter to the board, Hagekhalil said that “every action I took on your behalf and at your direction was faced with a frivolous complaint to undermine and stop the reform that you directed.”

He said when he was hired by MWD, he arrived “at a time of turmoil following harassment and retaliation complaints by employees, unhealthy workplace conditions” in desert outposts, and outdated human resources policies and hiring practices.

Hagekhalil noted that before he was hired, the Los Angeles Times had published an investigation about women’s complaints of harassment, discrimination and retaliation, and that some MWD board members had pushed for an independent investigation by Shaw Law Group, a Sacramento firm.

The full investigative report, which remains confidential, substantiated the women’s complaints, Hagekhalil said. A scathing state audit later determined that the district had failed to commit resources to properly investigate complaints of misconduct and had engaged in unfair hiring practices, among other problems.

“We wanted a healing and a reset to the organization. You charged me to do that,” Hagekhalil said. Those efforts, he said, included creating an independent office for discrimination complaints, creating an office of diversity, equity and inclusion, and reforming policies to address bullying and harassment, among other things.

But he said some within the agency “didn’t accept that and continued to try to undermine us by weaponizing the complaint process with bad faith claims.” He said that “a small number of people resisted change and accountability” and that “every action I took was faced with frivolous complaints.”

Hagekhalil said he has been subjected to other anonymous complaints that have been investigated and shown to be unfounded. In one case, he said, an anonymous complaint regarding the hiring of a chief of staff led to an investigation that ended on Aug. 15, when MWD’s ethics office notified him there was no violation and the matter was closed.

“I am very concerned about the fairness and objectivity of the investigation process. It is very clear that these are unfounded and frivolous allegations and complaints, leaks, lies being used to smear us with the goal to force the board’s hand,” Hagekhalil said in his letter, urging board members not to “fall for these tactics.”

About 20 people spoke in favor of Hagekhalil during the meeting, including employees, environmental advocates, residents and others.

Bruce Reznik, executive director of the group Los Angeles Waterkeeper, called for reinstating Hagekhalil while the investigations are completed “with as much transparency as is possible.”

“My experience with Adel has always been extremely positive,” Reznik said, calling him a “thoughtful, inclusive, transparent leader.”

Caty Wagner, water campaign manager for the Sierra Club, said that there appears to be a group at MWD “who want to take the district back in time,” and that Hagekhalil is being targeted for standing against them.

“I am shocked by what I heard from Adel’s lawyer this morning — that he has not yet been contacted by investigators and did not know what today’s meeting would be about,” Wagner said. “The public is watching and we are appalled.”

Others who voiced support included Marty Adams, the former general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, who said Hagekhalil has “brought the water community together throughout the whole state.”

Some praised Hagekhalil’s efforts to have better communication with communities and tribes in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, where water is pumped to provide a portion of Southern California’s supplies.

“We need more California water leaders like Adel, not less,” Krystal Moreno of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians said.

Others were critical of Hagekhalil and said the investigations should get to the bottom of the complaints.

“I’m here today speaking for those who cannot speak because of fear of retaliation and harassment,” said Trish Gonzales, a retired employee who worked in the human resources department. She said some employees are “fearful for speaking up and have been harmed and traumatized by Adel and his people.”

Gonzales said the general manager has engaged in “unethical practices” and urged the board to “do the right thing.”

John Vrsalovich, president of the Management and Professionals Employees Assn., which represents some MWD employees, urged the board to “continue methodically investigating the allegations and not be swayed by the clearly solicited support coming from inside and outside the agency today and over the past few months, which we believe was orchestrated to sow doubt across the various investigations.”

Vrsalovich said the serious allegations “demand a thorough investigation to fairly resolve issues for all parties so the organization can move forward.”

The board has temporarily appointed Assistant General Manager Deven Upadhyay, who has been at the agency for 29 years, as the interim general manager.

Several union members and leaders of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1902 said employees have continued to face unfair treatment, harassment and retaliation.

Gonzalo Pantoja, an electrician, said one manager recently “felt comfortable enough to shove an employee to the ground and, to this day, has received little to no discipline for his actions.”

Alan Shanahan, president of Local 1902, said that Hagekhalil brought positive efforts toward change, but that since his removal “we have seen a complete disconnect of HR and management from collaboration.”

Ellen Mackey, a senior ecologist and leader of the MWD women’s caucus, said the attitude of the manager who shoved the employee is “indicative of the abusive attitude towards employees that Adel sought to change.”

Mackey said she believes “some middle, upper and retired managers have colluded to oust Adel.”

“We’re still unsure of the number of sides involved in this ‘Game of Thrones’ farce,” she said. “The investigation should follow the lines of evidence wherever they go.”