A decisive vote by nearly 2,000 food and beverage employees at SoFi Stadium has set the stage for a potential work stoppage just days before the venue is slated to host a World Cup match.
Union Demands and Employer Counteroffers
The workers, represented by Unite Here Local 11, have been operating without a contract for a year and are calling for substantial salary increases, a ban on subcontracting of their roles, and a clear policy that bars federal immigration agents from entering the stadium. They also object to FIFA’s request to collect detailed personal data for background checks, arguing that the information could be shared with Homeland Security and ICE.
Legends Global, the stadium’s food‑service operator, has responded with a proposal that includes wage freezes and modest raises for a subset of employees, while insisting that the data‑collection protocol complies with applicable privacy regulations and that the information will be deleted once it is no longer needed.
The union’s membership overwhelmingly endorsed strike authorization, with 96 % of voters supporting the measure, signaling a high likelihood that walk‑offs could disrupt the tournament’s opening game between the United States and Paraguay scheduled for June 12.
Negotiations between the union and Legends Global are slated to continue, but the timing of any industrial action remains uncertain. FIFA, which is partnering with the U.S., Canadian and Mexican governments on security for the event, maintains that its data‑gathering measures are standard for large‑scale international competitions.
The potential strike underscores broader tensions over labor rights and data privacy in the hospitality sector, and it could reverberate across the supply chain of services that keep major sporting venues running.