One week before the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off in Los Angeles, workers at SoFi Stadium face a pivotal moment: a strike authorization vote that could disrupt the mega-event if negotiations with stadium operator Legends Global don't improve.
Unite Here Local 11 is calling the vote as contract talks have stalled. The union represents food and beverage workers and other stadium employees who say they've been shut out of the financial windfall that will flow from hosting the World Cup, the Super Bowl, and the Olympics in coming years.
"We know they're going to make a lot of money during these events," said Yolanda Fierro, a suite runner and union member who voted to authorize the strike. "So what we want is a thank-you, gratitude from the company, giving us a good, equitable contract for increasing our wages, so we can survive out here in California because it's very expensive here in this state."
SoFi Stadium will host eight World Cup matches starting June 12, when the U.S. faces Paraguay. For the tournament, the Inglewood venue will operate under the temporary name "Los Angeles Stadium" due to FIFA's branding restrictions.
The dispute extends beyond wages. Union leaders are also demanding safeguards for workers and spectators, specifically calling on FIFA to prohibit Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers from entering the stadium during World Cup matches.
Fierro emphasized the stakes for her colleagues. "They pay their taxes, they just want to be treated fairly and respectfully," she said. "We also do not want our guests from around the world to feel in fear of coming to our stadium and feel like ICE is going to take them because they're not from our country."
Last month, the union and the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California asked California Attorney General Rob Bonta to investigate FIFA's data collection practices. The groups alleged that FIFA was requiring workers to surrender sensitive personal information and waive California data-protection rights, then sharing that data with the Department of Homeland Security.
"These workers are being put in an impossible bind, where they are being forced to choose between their livelihoods and handing over their most personal sensitive information," the letter to Bonta stated. "Workers in California should not be forced to make this choice."
ICE enforcement has become a flashpoint in Los Angeles and other cities. During the Trump administration, the agency conducted high-profile raids at worksites across the country, including car washes and other facilities in the LA area. Some operations resulted in officers using "less-lethal" munitions against protesters, with at least two people partially blinded.
Legends Global, the subcontractor managing food and beverage operations at SoFi Stadium, declined to comment on the labor dispute. FIFA's media team responded with an auto-reply indicating a response would come within 14 days.
Author James Rodriguez: "If workers vote yes on the strike and negotiations don't move, a World Cup disrupted by labor action would send a powerful message about who actually profits from these global spectacles."
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