Pickets & Power Bulletin: “No Kings” Protests Sweep U.S.; ICE Deployed to Airports; LA Hotel Workers Reject ICE
“No Kings” protests sweep the country, point to May Day escalation
Over 8 million people took to the streets on March 28 in over 3,000 protests across all 50 states – the third nationwide “No Kings” day of action. This follows the last “No Kings” protest on October 18, 2025, which saw over 7 million people in the streets for the single largest national protest in U.S. history. Since then the Trump administration has only deepened their attacks as the country spirals deeper into crisis.
From Los Angeles to Minneapolis – where the flagship protest followed months of resistance to ICE raids – crowds rallied against the Trump administration’s war on Iran, mass deportations, and cuts to social programs. Working people across the political spectrum are feeling their lives grow more difficult as prices for everything from gas to healthcare rise, and the Trump administration offers no solutions, only more problems.
Organizers are now turning up the heat on May 1 – May Day – calling to escalate from mass demonstrations to mass disruption: no work, no school, no shopping. In effect, a general strike.
A broad Los Angeles labor and community coalition is stepping forward to answer that call – committing to May Day as a day of disruption. The coalition includes the LA Labor Federation – representing over 800,000 workers across 300+ unions and labor organizations – along with immigrant rights organizations and community groups. As Trump’s attacks against working people continue to grow, so do the calls to action.
Shutdown crisis deepens as ICE sent to airports
The partial federal government shutdown – now entering its sixth week after beginning February 14 – has pushed the air travel system toward collapse. Already hundreds of TSA workers have quit, absentee rates have surged into double digits, and wait times for travelers have stretched to hours-long delays.
In response, Trump has deployed ICE agents into major airports, even though they lack screening training and are largely limited to observing operations. Instead of funding TSA or easing the crisis, Trump has sent ICE agents into airports – agents who can’t even perform screening. At the center of the crisis: Trump is demanding funding for ICE, while TSA workers are forced to work without pay.
Recently, Trump suggested he would only consider resolving the crisis with any cuts to ICE funding if the Democrats guarantee they will pass the SAVE Act. The SAVE Act would require states to submit voter rolls to DHS and require passports or birth certificates to vote – a move that would likely disenfranchise millions if it were to pass. With the current crisis as leverage, Trump is pushing to supercharge ICE and undermine our basic democratic rights.
The impasse appears to be breaking as the Senate voted unanimously on Friday to fund TSA and end the shutdown, while not allocating more funding for ICE and CBP. This could mark a major defeat for Trump. However, House Republicans have put forward a competing DHS funding bill that still maintains expanded funding for ICE and CBP. While Trump has indicated he would sign a bill to fund TSA after political pressure has mounted, the crisis remains unresolved at this time.
Hotel workers assert right to walk out over ICE threats
UNITE HERE Local 11 announced that hospitality workers have the right to walk off the job if they feel unsafe due to ICE activity. They have said federal immigration agents at worksites create “unusually dangerous conditions” for workers, demanding that companies refuse to host ICE.
“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 represents tens of thousands of hotel, airport, restaurant, and stadium workers across Southern California and Arizona, many of them immigrants or working in heavily surveilled workplaces. With immigration enforcement ramping up in major cities – including those preparing for the 2026 World Cup – the union’s stance signals a major escalation: ICE activity could now trigger workplace walkouts, just as the hospitality sector enters a vulnerable period.
This sets up a direct collision between immigration enforcement and labor power in some of the most visible sectors of the economy. UNITE HERE played a central role in the 2006 Day Without An Immigrant protests leading up to and including massive demonstrations to shut major cities down on May Day that year. This statement could be a sign of great involvement from Local 11 and UNITE HERE more broadly in today’s struggle for the rights of immigrant workers. If ICE shows up, workers may walk out.
BONUS ROUND
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