SoFi workers vote strike as World Cup nears

Nearly 2,000 food and beverage workers at SoFi Stadium voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike with World Cup kickoffs days away, citing a stalled contract, demands for higher pay and protections, and fears over FIFA’s push for sensitive personal data and b

For the third time this week, the countdown has felt personal—because at SoFi Stadium, the World Cup is arriving with less than a week to spare, and nearly 2,000 food and beverage workers are deciding what happens when negotiations run out of time.

On Friday, workers at SoFi Stadium voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike, with a walkout now tied to whether a new labor contract is reached before kickoff. The vote came about a week before the venue will host the first World Cup game on U.S. soil in more than three decades.

The labor contract talks involve Unite Here Local 11, the union representing cooks, dishwashers, concession workers and bartenders at SoFi and at Legends Global, the stadium’s food-service operator. Negotiations are expected to continue on Monday even after the vote.

But Unite Here co-president Kurt Petersen said the union will move quickly if no agreement is reached. Workers would walk off the job, and the June 12 match between the U.S. and Paraguay—when 70,000 fans are expected—could be met by hundreds of picketers.

The union says members have been working without a contract for a year. Petersen said Unite Here is seeking salary increases. protection against subcontracting and job loss through automation. and it is protesting the collection of sensitive private information such as nationality and home addresses that FIFA said it needs to accredit workers.

Workers also want the right to walk off the job if federal immigration enforcement enters the stadium and creates a reasonable fear for their safety.

A decisive 96% of the vote was in favor of strike authorization.

Legends Global responded to the vote with a statement that said it has presented “progressive wage proposals” to Unite Here Local 11 throughout negotiations and remains confident an agreement is within reach. The company said it expects a contract to be finalized in time and that a contingency staffing plan is in place “to ensure seamless operations and no disruption to fans.” Legends Global also said it remains committed to delivering an “outstanding hospitality experience” at the FIFA World Cup matches.

That contingency plan would include hiring replacement workers, who would have to undergo the same detailed accreditation procedures demanded by FIFA, along with job training.

SoFi Stadium is scheduled to host eight World Cup matches, including two of the U.S. team’s three group-stage games. The first is the U.S. opener on June 12 against Paraguay.

Petersen said the union is looking for “substantial increases” in hourly pay, to more than $30 an hour. Legends’ most recent proposal, as described by the union, includes wage freezes for some workers and a 25-cent hourly increase for cooks and dishwashers.

Even as wages remain a battleground, the union’s leaders point to FIFA’s insistence on collecting sensitive personal information—such as Social Security numbers and fingerprints—to process background checks.

Under California privacy laws. workers have the right to know what personal information an employer collects. how it will be used. and who it will be shared with. Local 11 said its members fear that if such information is collected. it could be made available to the Department of Homeland Security and ICE.

Petersen said that when workers were originally hired by Legends, they submitted the documentation necessary for employment. Under the current collective bargaining agreement, he said the company does not have the right to request the documentation again for FIFA.

FIFA has declined to comment on the contract talks themselves. saying they are “between Legends Global and Unite Here Local 11.” It nonetheless defended its broader accreditation approach. saying it is partnering with the governments of the U.S. Canada and Mexico—where the 39-day tournament will be played—to “enhance safety and security of all workers. staff. team members. vendors. journalists. volunteers. and spectators by mitigating potential insider threats.” FIFA said the name-check process is not pre-employment screening. adding: “Such name checks do not constitute pre-employment checks.”.

FIFA said all data collected during the name-check process would be processed “in accordance with applicable data protection and privacy laws,” and would be deleted by FIFA “as soon as it is no longer needed for purposes of adjudicating requests for credentialed access to FIFA-controlled spaces.

The sticking point for workers is that FIFA’s data demands cannot simply be papered over in the middle of contract negotiations—at least not in the way the union and Legends Global describe the process. For now. the vote makes the timing clear: Monday’s continued talks are the last stretch before the World Cup’s first wave arrives.

SoFi Stadium Unite Here Local 11 Legends Global World Cup strike authorization labor contract Kurt Petersen FIFA accreditation Social Security numbers fingerprints immigration enforcement