A crowd of local union members and organizers formed in front of the classical-style arches of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum early Thursday morning, holding a banner with the colorful, iconic Olympic rings and “Fair Games” printed across them.
With the city of Los Angeles set to become a mega sporting events capital of the world — scheduled to host the FIFA World Cup, the Super Bowl, the Olympic and Paralympic Games all in the next few years — labor groups pushed for what they are calling a “New Deal” to get the city and the LA28 Olympics organizing committee to make commitments to improve the lot of working people.
The unions are calling for multibillion-dollar investments to build 50,000 units of housing, a prohibition on Airbnb and other short-term rentals, more transparency in venue agreements and protections for immigrant workers — as well as foreign visitors and fans — from federal raids.
“Let’s fight for our future, let’s fight for our democracy. Because together we can hold LA28 and the [International Olympic Committee] accountable,” said Victor Sanchez, executive director of advocacy group Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, at the Thursday rally.
Union officials noted that world sporting events have often failed to produce lasting benefits for host cities, causing price increases that displace low-income residents and leaving communities indebted.
“After the Games are over, what’s left for L.A.? “ said Armando Elenes, secretary-treasurer of United Farm Workers, in an interview.
Olympic organizers and corporate partners rejected the idea that local residents would be left out of the economic benefits of hosting the Games.
Jacie Prieto Lopez, a spokesperson for LA28, said in a statement that the Olympic and Paralympic Games “will mean good-paying jobs and real opportunities for working people in Los Angeles, including benefits that reach the neighborhoods and families who keep this city running.”
“In collaboration with the City of Los Angeles, we look forward to our partnerships with local unions and remain confident the Games will bring positive economic impact to the region and leave behind a stronger future for working people,” Lopez said.
The region’s intractable housing and homelessness crisis is at the core of the union push.
The campaign calls for the International Olympic Committee to end its partnership with Airbnb, which it announced in 2019 and is set to last through 2028, covering five Games. Short-term rental companies have been accused of depleting housing stock by removing them from the long-term rental market, thereby driving up rents and exacerbating L.A.’s homelessness crisis.
And it calls on the Olympic committee as well as LA28 to contribute $5 billion to fund housing construction.
Airbnb representatives pushed back on claims that it hurt housing stock. The company cited a study it published last year that found it had generated $4.4 billion in economic activity in L.A. in 2023, supporting thousands of jobs and bringing in $1.2 billion in tax revenue.
“Airbnb is focused on ensuring Los Angeles’ visitors have an affordable place to stay, while the city gets the revenue it needs to prevent cuts to public services — all without taxing Angelenos,” Justin Wesson, a senior public policy manager at Airbnb, said in a statement. “UNITE HERE continues to put hotel special interests ahead of what’s best for locals.”
The company said it fills a crucial lodging gap, with the 2028 Olympics expected to draw as many as 2.3 million tourists to the Los Angeles region. Hotels in the Los Angeles area can accommodate approximately 174,000 guests per day, out of the estimated need of accommodating about 575,000 guests per day, according to Airbnb.
The International Olympic Committee did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Kurt Petersen, co-president of Unite Here Local 11, said that in the early stages LA28 Chairman Casey Wasserman had said that if Los Angeles won its bid to host the Olympics, it would build an Olympic Village with 17,000 beds for athletes, coaches and staff that would later be converted into permanent housing. Those plans in L.A. fell through, Petersen said.
“Housing is the No. 1 problem for everyone,” Petersen said. “We gave [housing construction] up here. and we’re saying ‘no no no.’ We need to have that vision — that vision that somehow disappeared.”
A spokesperson for LA28 said Wasserman’s comments were made before a bid was submitted. The city’s official bid to host the Olympics had named UCLA’s campus as the site for the Olympic and Paralympic Village.
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