SoFi Stadium workers threaten strike, demand no ICE at World Cup

With the World Cup closing in on SoFi Stadium, about 2,000 cooks, servers, bartenders and other food-service workers are warning that the venue could face a strike if their demands are not met. The labor fight puts concession stands, kitchens and stadium service jobs at the center of a tournament that will bring one of the biggest crowds in global sports to Inglewood, California.

Unite Here Local 11 said the workers want FIFA and the stadium owner to make a public commitment that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol will not be part of tournament operations. The union is also pressing for protections for union jobs and working conditions, plus support for affordable housing for hospitality workers in the Los Angeles area. The workers are still without a labor contract, adding another layer of uncertainty as the venue prepares for its World Cup run.

The pressure point is immediate. FIFA has confirmed that Los Angeles Stadium, the World Cup name for SoFi Stadium, will host eight matches, including the U.S. team’s opening group-stage game against Paraguay on Friday, June 12, 2026. The venue will also host Iran against New Zealand on June 15. For the cooks and stand workers who will have to feed those crowds, any stoppage would hit the parts of the stadium experience most fans touch first: the line at the counter, the beer pour, the grab-and-go meal between halves.

The union’s concern is not only about immigration enforcement, but also about how safety rules get enforced when the tournament arrives. On March 24, Unite Here Local 11 said ICE or Border Patrol on employer property could amount to “unusually dangerous conditions” under collective bargaining agreements, language the union says could allow workers to refuse unsafe work. Acting Department of Homeland Security Director Todd Lyons has said ICE would play a “key part” in World Cup security, a prospect the union says would put workers and guests at risk.

Kurt Petersen, the union’s co-president, said FIFA and its sponsors will profit heavily from the tournament while the people serving the crowds are left behind. The union also wants assurances that artificial intelligence and automation will not be used to eliminate union jobs during the event, a warning that reflects how technology fears are now creeping into restaurant and stadium work. Local 11 has also pushed for a workforce housing fund, short-term-rental restrictions and tax measures aimed at affordable housing and immigrant-family protections.

FIFA, SoFi Stadium and Legends Global did not immediately comment, and the union says it has repeatedly sought meetings since Los Angeles was awarded host-city status. With the first kickoff weeks away, the dispute has become more than a labor standoff. It is a test of whether a stadium built for spectacle can keep its restaurant operation running without pushing the workers who run it to the sidelines.