The Fair Games Coalition staged a Jedi-themed protest outside the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Exposition Park, with demonstrators in Star Wars costumes singling out Mellody Hobson. The action put LA28’s labor and housing fight in front of one of the people tied closest to the project.
More than 60 labor unions, community organizations, and faith groups make up the coalition. Their demand is not symbolism. They want binding agreements ahead of the World Cup and the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, including transparency, fair wages, and a guarantee that residents will not be priced out of their own homes.
Mellody Hobson and LA28
Hobson is both a co-founder of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art and a board member of LA28, which made her a direct target for activists pressing for a New Deal for the Games. The museum setting gave the protest a sharper edge: the coalition chose a site in Exposition Park next to major Olympic venues, putting the message where the city’s event planning is already visible.
The contrast was deliberate. A public display built around A Jedi and Star Wars imagery carried a serious labor message underneath it, aimed at organizers and sponsors who will shape how the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games land for workers and residents in Los Angeles.
Fair Games Coalition demands
The coalition’s list centers on practical protections. It is pushing for transparency in planning, fair wages, and housing safeguards that would keep working people from being pushed out as the city prepares for the World Cup and the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Trade unions in Southern California have already secured historic agreements for hospitality workers, and they have also pushed for higher tourism minimum wages plus safety protocols that let staff refuse work if federal immigration enforcement agents operate at venues. That matters because the coalition is treating these events as bargaining leverage, not just a celebration calendar.
Direct action looms
If LA28, the International Olympic Committee, and corporate CEOs refuse to negotiate, workers are prepared to take direct action, including potential strikes, right as the opening ceremonies begin. The Overpaid CEO Tax initiative also sits in the background of the broader fight, with its aim of clawing back corporate executive compensation to fund affordable housing and basic civic repairs.
For residents and workers, the immediate issue is not the costumes. It is whether the commitments around wages, housing, and transparency become binding before the Games create more pressure on Southern California’s labor market and housing costs.
