SoFi Stadium workers weigh strike ahead of World Cup kickoff

Nearly 2,000 cooks, dishwashers, concession workers, bartenders, servers and cashiers at SoFi Stadium voted to authorize a strike, giving their union new leverage just as the venue prepared to open its World Cup run. Unite Here Local 11 said 96% of the workers who voted backed the move, a show of force that landed days before the stadium’s first match on June 12, when the U.S. men’s national team faces Paraguay.

The vote, which took place Thursday and Friday at the union’s office in Hawthorne, did not automatically trigger a walkout. But it put union leaders in position to call a strike as soon as negotiations resume Monday with Legends Global, the stadium’s food-service operator, if the sides do not reach a deal. Workers say talks have stalled over wages, workplace protections and job security, including limits on subcontracting and automation.

The union says Legends’ latest proposal included wage freezes for some workers and 25-cent hourly raises for others. That has sharpened the stakes for a workforce that will be under intense pressure when SoFi hosts eight World Cup matches, with hospitality suites already selling for more than $100,000. For stadium workers, that kind of revenue only underscores the gap between the money flowing through marquee events and the paychecks on the other side of the counter.

The dispute is also about more than wages. Unite Here Local 11 and allied groups filed a complaint with the California Privacy Protection Agency and asked California Attorney General Rob Bonta to investigate FIFA’s accreditation process, arguing that workers could be forced to hand over sensitive personal information, including Social Security numbers, residential addresses, nationality and country of birth. The coalition says FIFA can share that data with law enforcement and other agencies whenever it deems necessary.

Immigration fears have added another layer of tension around the tournament. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said federal authorities told him they would be at the matches to assist with security, but not civil immigration enforcement. Local 11 has tied the SoFi fight to a broader push to keep ICE out of World Cup venues, while more than 100 human rights groups are urging FIFA to back a moratorium on immigration raids during the tournament. For workers serving fans at SoFi, the World Cup is already acting like a labor stress test, with pay, staffing, security and privacy all colliding before the first whistle.