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PRESS RELEASES

PRESS INQUIRIES

For Press Inquiries:
Maria Hernandez, Communications
(623) 340-8047 (mobile)
[email protected]

For Arizona Press Inquiries:
Rachele Smith, Communications
(623) 670-9889 (mobile)
[email protected]

Some of the following press releases have been shortened and edited to avoid redundancy.

High resolution photos are available upon request.

UNITE HERE Local 11 represents over 32,000 workers employed in hotels, restaurants, airports, sports arenas, and convention centers throughout Southern California and Arizona. Members of UNITE HERE Local 11 join together to fight for improved living standards and working conditions.

BREAKING NEWS: LA Hotel and Stadium Workers Invoke Safety Language, Say They Have Right to Refuse to Work During ICE Presence at World Cup

Unions says hosting of federal immigration agents creates “unusually dangerous conditions” for workers, demands that companies refuse to host ICE and Border Patrol

Los Angeles, CA — UNITE HERE Local 11, representing 32,000 hospitality workers in Southern California and Arizona, has formally notified hotels, stadiums, and other employers that the presence of ICE or U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Border Patrol) agents on their property constitute “unusually dangerous conditions” under the parties’ collective bargaining agreements, triggering workers’ contractual right to refuse unsafe work.

In a letter, the Union cited heavily armed federal presence, protests, and a pattern of rapidly escalating violence connected to recent immigration enforcement actions. The Union emphasized that workers must not be placed in volatile situations beyond the scope of their normal duties.

Recent incidents across the country — including fatal shootings involving federal immigration agents — have sparked widespread protests and heightened community tension. On October 14, 2025, the County of Los Angeles proclaimed a local emergency, finding that federal immigration enforcement actions posed extreme peril to county residents’ safety.

“Our members should not be forced into the middle of heavily armed enforcement operations,” said UNITE HERE Co President Kurt Petersen. “Our contracts guarantee a safe workplace, and if hotels and stadiums choose to allow ICE onto their properties, our workers have the right to walk out.”

The Union has asked hotels and other workplaces – including stadiums – to refrain from having ICE or Border Patrol personnel lodge at or use their property to stage their activities during this period of heightened public attention. If hotels, stadiums, or other companies choose to do so, the Union is requesting advance notice and confirmation that workers will be allowed to leave or refuse work without reprisal.

As Los Angeles prepares to host the World Cup this June, the Union warned that the federal government’s promised increase of federal enforcement activity during the mega-event makes safety concerns especially urgent.

“We stood together to protect guests and workers during COVID,” Union leaders said in their letter. “We must do so again to ensure the safety of our workplaces and communities.”

PRESS RELEASE: Fair Games Coalition Launches Overpaid CEO Tax to Fund Housing and Sidewalk Repairs Ahead of LA 2028

Los Angeles: Outside the Tesla Diner in Hollywood, the Fair Games Coalition, comprised of community leaders, labor organizations, and advocates, announced the launch of the Overpaid CEO Tax Initiative, a people-powered ballot measure to ensure that corporations that contribute to extreme wealth inequality pay their fare share so that working families in Los Angeles can thrive.

Ahead of the Olympic & Paralympic Games in 2028, the initiative would progressively tax large corporations whose CEOs earn more than 50 times their median worker in Los Angeles, generating more than half a billion per year to reinvest directly into Los Angeles communities.

Los Angeles is one of the least affordable cities in the world. Housing costs continue to soar, grocery prices are skyrocketing, and critical neighborhood infrastructure like streets and sidewalks remain in disrepair. At the same time, compensation for corporate executives has reached staggering levels — in 2024, CEOs at the nation’s largest companies earned an average of 281 times more than their typical worker.

The Overpaid CEO Tax Initiative would ensure corporations that overpay executives while underpaying workers contribute their fair share, with the anticipated half-billion dollar revenue allocated as follows:

  • $350 Million annually to build tens of thousands of housing units for working people such as teachers, grocery workers, firefighters, and hotel room attendants.
  • $100 Million to repair over 100 miles of sidewalks every year.
  • $25 Million for after-school programs like LA’s Best, serving over 12,000 students each year and giving working families safe, high quality care for their kids.
  • $25 Million to support 25 grocery stores annually bringing healthy food choices into areas with no decent options.
  • The Fair Games Coalition outlined the initiative’s path to the November 2026 ballot and called on organizations and residents to join a broad coalition to collect signatures and mobilize voters.

“This matters now more than ever, as Los Angeles prepares to host the Olympics and Paralympics. A fair Olympics requires a fair economy — and the Overpaid CEO Tax is part of that deal. As the city gets ready to host these mega events and forces like Airbnb, Delta and the American Hotel and Lodging Association try to control the wealth, this tax will even the playing field for the working families of this city,” said Kurt Petersen, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11.

Lisandro Preza, member of UNITE HERE Local 11  who works as a cashier at LAX for a company called Paradies Lagardère said, “This Overpaid CEO tax will be a lifeline for so many angelenos like myself. To stay housed, I have to count every penny. If I make one mistake, I have to ask my family for money  just to survive. That stress makes my health worse, trapping me in a cycle that feels impossible to escape. I am one emergency away from homelessness. I can’t cover emergencies, I can’t save, and I can’t even imagine a vacation or a stable future.”

“Our streets are in need of repair. Our sidewalks are crumbling. We see the same neighborhoods left behind again and again. The Overpaid CEO Tax will fund the city to build, maintain, repair, and make desperately necessary infrastructure improvements, including improving public streets, protecting tree canopy, and repairing sidewalks. Our members know first hand how crucial and necessary these repairs are, and we are ready to get this initiative on the ballot,” said Raymond Meza, of SEIU 721 the largest public sector union in Southern California, representing over 100,000 workers, including in street services.

“UFCW Local 770 represents more than 27,000 workers across healthcare, grocery, food processing, and cannabis, and our members support this initiative because we want a Los Angeles that works for everyone. Since 1978, CEO pay has exploded while worker pay has barely moved, creating the extreme inequality we see today. In one of the nation’s largest food-producing states, no neighborhood should be a food desert. The Overpaid CEO Tax is about finding a solution to extreme income inequality, fixing a broken system, and making sure working families can put fresh, healthy food on the table.” – Kathy Finn, President, UFCW Local 770

“With the housing crisis deepening and inequality growing, we must prepare for 2028 by making sure corporations and the wealthiest pay what they owe instead of pushing the costs onto working families. While CEOs profit from underpaying workers, too many Angelenos are struggling to make ends meet in their own neighborhoods. The Overpaid CEO Tax Initiative would help ensure that the people who live, work, and raise families here, who do not treat this city as a playground, get the support and services our communities need to truly thrive.” – Cecily Myart-Cruz, President of UTLA, which represents 35,000 public educators.

Executive Director of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, Rev. Jennifer Gutierrez  said “This ballot initiative is not a political issue. It is a moral and spiritual imperative for us to build the Beloved Community – where our neighbors can live safely in their homes, our streets are beautifully repaired, our children have adequate support to succeed in school, and every family has access to fresh food.”

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The Fair Games Coalition is composed of more than 75 organizations including unions, community groups, housing advocates, and immigration leaders.

 

Airline catering workers picket at LAX 12/17/25

LAX Airport Workers Rally as LA City Council President Attempts to Lower Wages and Give Break to Airlines

In a shameful move, Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson introduced legislation to take money from hard-working Angelenos and give the trillion-dollar airline industry a break

Airport workers at LAX who are members of SEIU-United Service Workers West and UNITE HERE Local 11 are sounding the alarm after Los Angeles City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson introduced a motion to substantially weaken the Olympic Wage Ordinance, which was passed by the City Council in May and survived a failed referendum effort paid for by airlines and hotel corporations.

Under the existing law, tourism workers are on track to reach $30 an hour by 2028, a long-overdue wage that reflects the high cost of living in Los Angeles and the essential work LAX workers do to keep our region’s economy running. Harris-Dawson’s new motion would delay those increases until 2030, effectively taking money out of workers’ pockets with the lowest paid full-time workers without health coverage losing nearly $35,000 as a result of the proposed shift and handing it back to billion-dollar airline corporations, while the airline industry is expected to surpass $1 trillion for the first time ever, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA)’s financial projections. The motion also proposes creating major loopholes that would result in even further losses of healthcare and wages to airport workers and exclude hotel restaurant workers.

Workers call the move unprecedented, shameful, and a betrayal of the commitments the City made to the people who keep LAX running. Airport workers, many of whom struggled through the pandemic and continue to face compounding crises of rising rents, food prices, and transportation costs, are demanding that Council President Harris-Dawson immediately withdraw the motion, and that Mayor Karen Bass publicly affirm that she stands with airport workers, not corporate airlines.

Fair Games and Immigration Groups Call for Resignation of LA28’s Chairperson Wasserman in Response to Welcoming Trump’s MAGAfication of Board

Los Angeles, CA: Dozens of members of the Fair Games coalition—unions, community organizations, faith leaders, housing advocates, and immigration groups like UNITE HERE Local 11, CARECEN, NDLON, CLUE, LAANE, UFCW 770, UTLA and others—gathered to deliver a letter signed by hundreds and then hold a press conference outside of LA28’s Los Angeles offices.

While several individuals walked by wearing LA28 emblazoned merch, security threatened the peaceful coalition with arrest if they did not leave. Members of LA28 refused to go down to receive the letter.

The coalition’s demand for Wasserman to resign came after mid November’s announcement that the LA28 Organizing Committee has “gone MAGA” by appointing Kevin McCarthy, Diane Hendricks, Reince Priebus, Patrick Dumont, and Ken Moelis to its governing board. The coalition denounced the ways in which Casey Wasserman, Chairman of LA28, has kowtowed to Trump on security and undermined confidence in the Games’ independence and integrity.

The Fair Games Coalition has called for LA28 to commit to keeping ICE and all other immigration enforcement agencies away from the Games and out of the region. The safety and dignity of immigrant communities must not be compromised.

“LA28 can run the Trump Olympics. But LA28 cannot run the Los Angeles Olympics. If Casey Wasserman cannot see the difference and thinks appointing anti-union, anti-immigrant, pro-Trump billionaires is acceptable, then Casey Wasserman must resign — immediately,” said Kurt Petersen, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11, a member of Fair Games Coalition.

Rev. Andy Schweibert of Immanuel Presbyterian and member of Fair Games Coalition said, “We have seen the impact that this administration’s tactics to separate immigrant families and stoke fear has had on our members and families in our community. Our nation is facing a moral crisis. The Olympic and Paralympic games should lift all our communities, not create fear and uncertainty by aligning with federal forces who are endangering the safety of our community. LA28 and IOC must demand the immediate removal of ICE from Los Angeles and create a strong wall between the games and the administration’s oversight.”

Jose Madera of National Day Laborer Network said “ICE has detained thousands of community members in LA over the past few months. But to this day, LA28 has not publicly taken a stand in defence of LA’s immigrant communities. An Olympics and Paralympics security plan that gives control to a federal administration that is already attacking immigrants in our city and across the nation puts our entire community at risk.”

“We are demanding LA28 stand by and protect all workers and the rights of immigrants. We stand in solidarity with our community to demand protections for each other and all working-class Angelenos.” said Evelyn Hernandez, of CARECEN LA, TPS residency Coordinator.

Outside a brown hotel building, workers with red t-shirts and drums picket with signs reading "UNITE HERE Local 11 ON STRIKE" and "UNITE HERE Local 11 EN HUELGA"

Workers at Aimbridge-operated hotels in Los Angeles and Philadelphia strike during event-filled weekend, UNITE HERE reports

Workers at hotels owned by RLJ Lodging Trust on both coasts walk off the job in effort to win wages and benefits that enable them to afford to raise families in the cities where they work

CONTACT: Rachel Sulkes | [email protected] | 602-327-4084

PHOTOS AVAILABLE; CLICK HERE

LOS ANGELES: In the shadow of the Hollywood Bowl, hotel workers at the Hilton Garden Inn hotel in Hollywood started a picket line at 6 AM local time today.

The 160-room hotel, owned by RLJ Lodging Trust and operated by Aimbridge Hospitality, expected high occupancy this weekend for one of the last Hollywood Bowl concerts of the year.

In Philadelphia, workers at the Wyndham Historic District hotel—also owned by RLJ Lodging Trust and operated by Aimbridge—walked off the job earlier today, just ahead of the Thanksgiving travel season.

“Whether we strike is up to the employers and how willing they are to pay us fairly for the work we do,” said Maria Christina Velasquez, a shop steward with UNITE HERE Local 11 and laundry attendant at the Hilton Garden Inn Hollywood since 2019. “We’re ready for anything.”

“Hotel workers like me go on strike to win raises that keep up with the rising cost of living, pensions, high quality union healthcare, and safe workloads,” said Brent Allen, a restaurant server and member of UNITE HERE Local 274 at the Wyndham Historic District since 2023. “We’re going to welcome millions of visitors to Philly in 2026, but most of us can’t pay our basic bills. We deserve to be able to live dignified lives but that can only happen if the hotel owner and operator pay us what we deserve.”

RLJ Lodging Trust (NYSE: RLJ) owns a portfolio of nearly 100 hotels across 23 states and the District of Columbia. The company just this week announced a year-over-year drop in both revenue and net income. According to campaign filings, between July and September of this year, RLJ Lodging Trust contributed $25,000 to the effort to defeat a $30 minimum wage for hospitality workers that the Los Angeles City Council passed in May.

Aimbridge hospitality operates hotels across the world under known brands like Hilton, Hyatt, and Windham. Aimbridge-operated properties were among the last to settle during the 2023–2024 Southern California Hotel Strike, the largest hotel strike in modern U.S. history.

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UNITE HERE Local 11 is more than 32,000 hospitality workers in Southern California and Arizona who work in hotels, restaurants, universities, convention centers, and airports.

UNITE HERE LOCAL 274 is 4,000 private-sector hotel and food service workers at stadiums, universities, cafeterias, and hotels throughout the Philadelphia region.

Both are affiliates of UNITE HERE, a labor union representing 300,000 workers in gaming, hotel, and food service industries in North America. 

PHOTOS

Los Angeles

Looking up from the sidewalk outside a hotel to see traffic cones, signs that read "UNITE HERE Local 11 ON STRIKE," and two women in red T-shirts with drums and drumsticks

Outside a brown hotel building, workers with red t-shirts and drums picket with signs reading "UNITE HERE Local 11 ON STRIKE" and "UNITE HERE Local 11 EN HUELGA"

Philadelphia

On a beautiful November day outside a building marked "Wyndham" in blue letters, striking workers picket with signs reading "ON STRIKE! at Wyndham Philadelphia" and "Philly UNITE HERE Local 274" On a beautiful November day outside a building marked "Wyndham" in blue letters, striking workers picket with signs reading "ON STRIKE! at Wyndham Philadelphia" and "Philly UNITE HERE Local 274"

PRESS RELEASE: LA’s Historic Original Pantry Café To Open Early 2026! UNITE HERE Local 11 and New Owner Leo Pustilnikov Ink Deal to Save Restaurant

Los Angeles, CA: The Original Pantry Café workers, some of whom have served Angelenos for more than 40 years, will return to their jobs after a landmark agreement between the new owner and Real Estate Entrepreneur Leo Pustilnikov and UNITE HERE Local 11.  Together, they celebrated the announcement of reopening of the beloved 101-year old restaurant with city leaders, community allies and loyal patrons.  Workers were joined by Los Angeles council members, Ysabel Jurado, Curren Price and dozens more outside the Pantry today.

Now, under new ownership, the Pantry will reopen with its remarkable workers, the union and a renewed commitment to remain a cornerstone of Los Angeles. The Pantry is expected to reopen January 1st, 2026.

The deal comes six months after Richard J. Riordan Trust, the restaurant’s former owner, abruptly shuttered the Pantry after workers insisted that any new ownership must protect their jobs and honor their union. Thanks to a community-led campaign—including protests, pancake fundraisers, and public pressure—workers and allies kept the fight alive.

Kurt Petersen, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11 said, “That the Original Pantry will reopen is not just a union victory — it is a Los Angeles victory. It’s a love story with a storybook ending, arriving at a moment when our city needs it most. The Pantry’s dishwashers, cooks, and servers — with more than 300 years of service between them — never gave up. They are true heroes of Los Angeles.  Let’s go eat some pancakes!”

Real Estate Entrepreneur and new owner of the Original Pantry Cafe Leo Pustilnikov said,  “The resilience of the Pantry is in many ways proof of the resilience of Downtown as a whole. Both have had ups and downs and both will emerge stronger and more vibrant for future generations of Angelenos”

“The reopening of the Pantry could not have happened without the determination of its workers. I am proud to have helped facilitate the conversations with the new ownership that made this agreement possible,” said Councilmember Ysabel Jurado. “By bringing people together at the table and standing with our workers, we have turned their fight into a lasting victory for Downtown LA and all of Los Angeles.”

Jesus Moran, a server at the Original Pantry for  48 years said “We’re so happy for this new resolution! We hope to serve Los Angeles for another 100 years! To our customers, thank you for your support during our events, and to UNITE HERE Local 11 and Mr. Leo for bringing us back. We look forward to serving lots of pancakes again!”

Rev. Mark Hallahan, a member of CLUE, said “CLUE is elated to celebrate the Original Pantry’s reopening with the Workers who fought to ensure that sacred hospitality will continue to be offered here in the heart of downtown. We give thanks to God for the just resolution before us and pray that the Pantry will continue to be a place where folks can gather together in community and break bread that is served with love and justice”

BREAKING NEWS: In Historic Triumph, Tourism Workers Defeat CEOs’ Multi-Million Dollar Campaign to Overturn Olympic Wage, Law to Go into Effect

Los Angeles, CA: On Tuesday, over a hundred hotel room attendants, cooks, dishwashers, server, airline catering workers and airport workers plan to rally outside Los Angeles City Hall and celebrate the Olympic wage going into effect after the Los Angeles City Clerk announced the deceitful multi-million dollar referendum campaign funded by Delta, United and American Hotel and Lodging Association failed to qualify. Delta is a founding sponsor of the 2028 Olympics and Paralympics.

The Defend The Wage LA Coalition, comprised of UNITE HERE Local 11, SEIU-United Service Workers West (USWW), and Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE), released the following statement:

“Tourism workers demand airlines and hotels Pay Up Now! In a historic victory over some of the world’s largest corporations who spent over $3 million in a campaign that deceived Angelenos, workers mobilized and defeated the CEOs’ campaign to lower wages. The Olympic Wage must be implemented immediately. After years of speaking up at City Council meetings, protesting at City Hall and LAX, and even fasting for three days before a Council vote, workers have yet again triumphed over corporate interests. Elected officials must do right by the workers who will make mega-events like the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics happen and stand strong against corporations who seek to undermine workers and Angelenos who have again supported raising wages.”

The announcement comes after a full signature count by the Los Angeles County Registrar found that the referendum campaign did not meet the qualifications to be placed on the ballot.

During the signature-gathering process, the campaign funded by airlines and hotels were accused of misleading voters by claiming the referendum petition would increase wages, when it would actually overturn a recently-enacted minimum wage increase.  Authorities were presented with extensive documentation of these and other deceptive practices.  In some cases, signature gatherers were themselves deceived by the initiative organizers into believing the petition was to raise the minimum wage.

Additionally, volunteers accused signature gatherers of violence against canvassers seeking to educate the public about the actual impact of the referendum and to keep the Olympic Wage intact.  The referendum signature gatherers even set up shop in Skid Row, allegedly paying cash to unhoused people to register to vote and sign the referendum petition. A record of more than 120,000 Angelenos submitted forms to revoke their signatures on the referendum petition when they learned the petition would actually upend the Olympic Wage.

On Friday September 5th  in Long Beach the Olympic wage for convention and airport workers went into effect, bringing their wages up to $25 immediately and to $29.50 by the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2028.

Winning the Olympic wage was the first step towards building a more equitable Games that benefits working people. UNITE HERE Local 11, which leads the Fair Games coalition with LAANE and another 60 plus organizations, last month launched a vision calling on LA 28, IOC, corporate CEOs, and elected leaders for a New Deal for Our Future. The new deal would include union jobs and living wages, funding for 50,000 units of housing for working families, a ban on airbnb style short-term rentals to protect our homes, and safe and dignified treatment of immigrant communities.

BREAKING NEWS: Fair Games Coalition Threatens Protests and Strikes During 2028 Olympic Games, Launches Campaign for New Deal for Our Future Outside LA Coliseum Olympic Torch

Los Angeles, CA: Hundreds of hospitality workers, teachers, grocery store workers, housing groups and other allies gathered at the gates of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the site of the opening ceremonies of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Fair Games Coalition will launch a campaign for a New Deal for our Future to ensure the games benefit working families. The Fair Games Coalition of more than 60 organizations including unions such as UNITE HERE Local 11, UTLA, NUHW, UFCW Local 770, United Farm Workers, and community groups including LAANE, Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, Immaculate Heart Community, KIWA, ACCE, and more demand that the New Deal for the Games include:

  • Union and living wage jobs to support families
  • Affordable housing, including funding for 50,000 new units of housing for working families and a moratorium on Airbnb-style tourist rentals that take housing off the market
  • Fair and dignified treatment of immigrant communities
  • Transparency and accountability

Today the coalition called on LA28 and corporations to invest in a New Deal for Our Future—or face the possibility of massive protests and strikes on the opening day of the 2028 Olympics.

Over the next three years, Los Angeles will become the first city to host the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic & Paralympic Games back-to-back, making it the mega-events capital of the world. Pasadena, Inglewood, Long Beach and other cities will also host matches and events. Advocates of the New Deal will demand that these mega-events serve our communities and leave a positive legacy.  Five of the last six Olympics ran over budget by 100%, leaving governments indebted  and residents displaced.

Kurt Petersen, co-president of UNITE HERE Local 11 said, “The Games are not fleeting spectacles. They shape politics, the economy, and policing for decades. We believe the Games present a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform our city. Teachers. Grocery clerks. Room attendants. Athletes. Cooks. Servers.  Engineers. Farmworkers. Renters. Faith communities – we make this city run!  And we are standing as one. We know how to fight.  And we know how to win. So hear us now. If LA28 and the corporations that will profit from the Games refuse to change course, we will take this fight to the streets – and to the Games. Because these Games will either lift up our city — or we will shut them down!”

The Fair Games coalition decried how the City of Los Angeles has decided to subcontract the Games to billionaires. LA28’s chairman, billionaire Casey Wasserman, recently met with Donald Trump who on August 5 signed an executive order declaring himself the chair of L.A. Olympics task force, raising concerns about continued federal interference and militarization in the region.

The campaign launch came amid growing concerns over the Games. Over the last several months, Delta Airlines – a founding sponsor of LA28 – joined the American Hotel and Lodging Association in funding a misleading referendum campaign to try to overturn the recently enacted $30 an hour Olympic Wage for tourism workers. The Olympic Wage law–which, remarkably, has been attacked by the Olympics own leading sponsor–now stands as the only major legacy effort for the Games. Among other shortcomings in plans for the Games, Wasserman abandoned promises to build an Olympic Village that would transition to affordable housing, as was done in Paris. Airbnb, another Olympics corporate sponsor, was recently revealed as the backer for a misleading “Save our Services” campaign in its attempts to convert thousands more units of rental housing into hotel rooms for tourists, exacerbating the city’s housing affordability crisis.

“The Olympics will create a massive surge in demand for the goods and services we, the workers, provide. While that means heavier workloads for us and greater profits for billionaires, we must ensure everyone wins,” said United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 770 rank-and-file Executive Board member and CVS employee. “We’re fighting to make every job a union job—from grocery clerks to merchandise vendors—jobs that are fair-paying, safe, and can sustain a family in this increasingly expensive city.”

Graciela Gomez, a housekeeper at Hotel June and member of UNITE HERE Local 11 said, “As a mother to a 44 year old adult son with schizophrenia, it is increasingly difficult for me to make ends meet and stay housed in Inglewood. I have seen how companies like Airbnb have tried to take over our city. As part of the Fair Games we demand a ban on airbnb and other short term rentals. Inglewood is not for sale!”

Pastor Bridie Roberts, Director of Community Organizing for UNITE HERE Local 11 said, “We call on the  International Olympic Committee and LA 28 to build at least 50,000 homes, invest $5 Billion dollars to build housing for city employees, teachers, cooks, room attendants who will still be here long after the games are gone. Corporations profiting from these mega-events to pay their fair share. If Delta and Marriott can pay their CEOs tens of millions of dollars a year — hundreds of times what an airport worker or room attendant earns — then they can help fund housing. A simple tax on companies that pay CEOs obscene sums while underpaying their workers could raise over $500 million a year for affordable housing.  San Francisco proved it can be done.  Now it is our turn.”

 

Victor Sanchez, Executive Director of LAANE, “Today, we launched a bold vision for the 2028 Games: Join us. Let’s fight for our future. Let’s fight for our democracy. Together, we can hold LA28 and the IOC accountable. Let’s beat back the extractive cash grab for billionaires and let’s win material benefits and protections for working Angelenos.”

Reverend Gary Williams Senior Pastor of St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, located in District 8 in the City of Los Angeles and on the Board of Directors at CLUE., “The Olympics is an incredible global event that promotes the beauty of diversity, international solidarity, and beautiful stories of humanity through sports. Our workers’ vision for a just and inclusive future of Los Angeles reflects what the Olympics is all about.

Since 2021, UNITE HERE Local 11 and coalition partners have raised alarms about LA28’s secretive planning process, calling for transparency through public record requests and community action.