Buckets on the former deli counter contained pots, pans, and other noisemakers, while bullhorns were arranged on a nearby folding table.
minute read
Protest organizers appear to be using a King County-owned retail space directly across from Seattle's Lumen Field as a staging area ahead of FIFA World Cup matches set to begin Monday.
On Sunday evening, The Post Millennial observed protest materials stored inside the former Kingdome Deli storefront, located in a county-owned building near the stadium. Placards and banners were stacked throughout the space and displayed in windows. Buckets on the former deli counter contained pots, pans, and other noisemakers, while bullhorns were arranged on a nearby folding table.
Another temporary tenant operating in the building told The Post Millennial that the storefront was being rented from King County.
The materials appeared to belong to members of UNITE HERE Local 8, a labor union representing hospitality workers in Washington and Oregon. The union has been engaged in a labor dispute with Seattle's Embassy Suites hotel, located adjacent to Lumen Field. According to the union, hotel management has offered annual wage increases of less than $1 per hour while rejecting proposals related to healthcare coverage, staffing levels, and employee notification when agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are present on hotel property.
The union's contract expired on May 31. After terminating the agreement, union leaders warned that a strike could occur at any time once authorized. "The vote to authorize a strike is taking place this Friday, June 5," UNITE HERE Local 8 previously stated. "Once a strike is authorized, the union could call a strike at any time, including during the World Cup games."
Last week, Embassy Suites workers voted 94 percent in favor of authorizing a strike ahead of the World Cup. The union now has the authority to initiate a work stoppage in Seattle at any time. The hotel sits next to Lumen Field, where Seattle's World Cup matches will be played. Union organizers and allied groups have argued that businesses expecting increased revenue from the international tournament should provide stronger workplace protections and higher wages.
Outside the storefront, utility poles were covered with Antifa-themed posters reading "Eject Fascists World Cup" alongside red-card imagery. Other signs compared "Nazis 1938" to "MAGA 2026." Additional posters promoted Marxist congressional candidate and former Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant, depicting her wearing a keffiyeh associated with pro-Palestinian activism and advocating for rent control policies.
On the corner of the building was one of the surveillance cameras recently installed by the city. Seattle Socialist Mayor Katie Wilson previously said she would not turn on the cameras, but later relented following backlash from other Seattle officials and residents claiming there was a “general, but credible threat” against the World Cup.
The presence of organized protest materials steps away from Seattle's World Cup venue has raised concerns that additional activist groups could join demonstrations during the tournament, using the location as a logistical hub for actions targeting visitors, businesses, or World Cup-related events.
King County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, who now represents the district, previously participated in numerous protests while serving on the Seattle City Council, including demonstrations during Seattle's 2020 Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ/CHOP) occupation that emerged amid the George Floyd riots. It remains unclear what role, if any, King County has in the activities taking place within the storefront beyond serving as the property's owner and landlord.
On Sunday evening, The Post Millennial observed protest materials stored inside the former Kingdome Deli storefront, located in a county-owned building near the stadium. Placards and banners were stacked throughout the space and displayed in windows. Buckets on the former deli counter contained pots, pans, and other noisemakers, while bullhorns were arranged on a nearby folding table.
Another temporary tenant operating in the building told The Post Millennial that the storefront was being rented from King County.
The materials appeared to belong to members of UNITE HERE Local 8, a labor union representing hospitality workers in Washington and Oregon. The union has been engaged in a labor dispute with Seattle's Embassy Suites hotel, located adjacent to Lumen Field. According to the union, hotel management has offered annual wage increases of less than $1 per hour while rejecting proposals related to healthcare coverage, staffing levels, and employee notification when agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are present on hotel property.
The union's contract expired on May 31. After terminating the agreement, union leaders warned that a strike could occur at any time once authorized. "The vote to authorize a strike is taking place this Friday, June 5," UNITE HERE Local 8 previously stated. "Once a strike is authorized, the union could call a strike at any time, including during the World Cup games."
Last week, Embassy Suites workers voted 94 percent in favor of authorizing a strike ahead of the World Cup. The union now has the authority to initiate a work stoppage in Seattle at any time. The hotel sits next to Lumen Field, where Seattle's World Cup matches will be played. Union organizers and allied groups have argued that businesses expecting increased revenue from the international tournament should provide stronger workplace protections and higher wages.
Outside the storefront, utility poles were covered with Antifa-themed posters reading "Eject Fascists World Cup" alongside red-card imagery. Other signs compared "Nazis 1938" to "MAGA 2026." Additional posters promoted Marxist congressional candidate and former Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant, depicting her wearing a keffiyeh associated with pro-Palestinian activism and advocating for rent control policies.
On the corner of the building was one of the surveillance cameras recently installed by the city. Seattle Socialist Mayor Katie Wilson previously said she would not turn on the cameras, but later relented following backlash from other Seattle officials and residents claiming there was a “general, but credible threat” against the World Cup.
The presence of organized protest materials steps away from Seattle's World Cup venue has raised concerns that additional activist groups could join demonstrations during the tournament, using the location as a logistical hub for actions targeting visitors, businesses, or World Cup-related events.
King County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda, who now represents the district, previously participated in numerous protests while serving on the Seattle City Council, including demonstrations during Seattle's 2020 Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ/CHOP) occupation that emerged amid the George Floyd riots. It remains unclear what role, if any, King County has in the activities taking place within the storefront beyond serving as the property's owner and landlord.
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