Union threatens LA Olympics strike and issues $5bn demand
The 2028 Los Angeles Olympics has been threatened with strike action by a union demanding a $5bn investment in local housing.
The Unite Here Local 11 union has issued a list of demands ahead of the next Olympiad, insisting their 32,000 members could strike over the Olympics if they’re not listened to.
They have asked the International Olympic Committee and LA28 – the private firm behind the next Games – to donate $5bn to build affordable housing in the West Coast metropolis.
Furthermore the powerful union has demanded an end to the partnership between the LA 2028 Games and Airbnb, calling for a ban of the short-term let site during the Olympic summer.
The union’s co-president, Kurt Petersen said that “If LA28 and their billionaire backers refuse to change course, we will take this fight to the streets and to the Games”.
Strikes at the Olympics?
The demands come as part of Unite Here Local 11’s “New Deal For Our Future” campaign, which has been signed alongside a number of other unions and groups.
There have also been local issues in Los Angeles surrounding the Olympics, with transport, the minimum wage and the ability to leave a lasting legacy all controversial debating points.
But LA28 has insisted that the games will be “entirely privately funded” with the IOC and the firm agreeing earlier this year that brands will be able to have their logos plastered on stadiums as part of the first ever Olympic stadium naming rights deal.
Petersen, though, accused the private firm of “literally auctioning off our city”.
“What’s next?” he added. “Welcome to Airbnb Los Angeles?”
A spokesperson for LA28 said the Olympics and Paralympics heading to the city would “mean good-paying jobs and real opportunities for working people in Los Angeles”.
Other partners, besides Airbnb, include insurance giant Allianz as well as Coca-Cola, Deloitte, Samsung and Visa, and others.