Santa Monica — On Thursday evening, December 11, 2025, community leaders, labor advocates, clergy, and local workers held a seasonal posada procession through Santa Monica, calling for expanded worker housing, immigrant protections, and stronger job opportunities as the region prepares for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
A posada is a traditional Christmas-season procession that reenacts the biblical journey of Mary and Joseph as they seek shelter, often marked by singing, candlelight, and stops along a route where participants symbolically ask for lodging. In this case, organizers used the tradition’s theme of seeking shelter to highlight modern-day housing insecurity and economic challenges facing working families.
The demonstration began at the cannon monument on the Santa Monica Pier, where participants gathered with candles, signs, and traditional visuals including two ponies and volunteers dressed as Mary, Joseph, and angels. The procession’s first stop took place outside the shuttered Rusty’s Surf Ranch, where speakers urged the city to ensure that former workers have a pathway to return to their jobs once the venue reopens.
Organizers centered the march on a broader push for below-market housing to be developed on the current Santa Monica Airport property, which is slated to close in 2028. Groups including UNITE HERE Local 11, Clergy & Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE), and the Fair Games Coalition have advocated for years for the land to be repurposed into housing that would serve low- and moderate-income families. The coalition reiterated its call for 50,000 units of worker housing across the Los Angeles region, citing an acute housing shortage expected to worsen following recent wildfire disasters.
As the procession moved through the city toward its final stop at St. Augustine By-The-Sea Church, participants sang traditional posada songs while clergy and community members highlighted ongoing challenges faced by working families. Along the route, speakers emphasized the need for stable employment, fair wages, and immigration protections.
The Fair Games Coalition includes more than 75 unions, immigrant-rights groups, community organizations, and housing advocates. UNITE HERE Local 11 represents over 32,000 hospitality workers across Southern California and Arizona. CLUE continues its interfaith advocacy work by mobilizing clergy and lay leaders to support workers and immigrant communities across the region.
— Santa Monica Closeup continues to document public events of local significance for the community.
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