SoFi World – Food and beverage workers staffing Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium for the FIFA Men’s World Cup ratified a labor agreement Wednesday night in a 99-1 vote, winning higher wages and, crucially, contract walkout protections if federal immigration enforcement threatens
By Wednesday night, the fight at SoFi Stadium didn’t feel theoretical. It felt like a countdown.
Food and beverage workers staffing the Los Angeles venue for the FIFA Men’s World Cup—cooks. dishwashers. concession workers. bartenders. and servers—ratified a new agreement after months of dispute over pay and contract terms. The vote was 99-1, a rare margin for a deal that came together just days before the tournament begins.
The agreement matters not only because SoFi will host eight soccer matches in the coming weeks. but because the labor fight was tightly bound to fear about what immigration enforcement could mean inside a packed stadium. The contract includes contractual guarantees that allow workers to walk off the job if federal immigration enforcement threatens worker safety during a match.
The push for those protections was rooted in a bitter stretch of bargaining. The stadium’s operator had previously ceased negotiations after multiple bargaining sessions failed to reach an agreement. Workers threatened to strike before they ultimately won the walkout language and other changes.
Union leadership had signaled how serious the breakdown had become. In an interview with The Athletic last week. Kurt Petersen. the president of UNITE HERE Local 11—the union representing the food and beverage workers—said the stadium operator was “not taking the concerns and demands seriously enough.”.
On Wednesday, the workers chose sides with their ballots. The union said the agreement “won every major issue” it had brought to the table. including raises of at least 30 percent. a housing fund. job protections. restrictions on AI and automation. privacy rights around personal data. and walkout rights if ICE raids or similar federal action occur.
“I’m proud we stood together,” union member Susana Lahargue said in a statement. “This contract proves what workers can accomplish when we stand together. We are proud to welcome fans knowing that workers have secured a contract that respects our work and our dignity.”
The vote caps a narrow runway. The union announced last week that the workers it represents voted 96 percent in favor of authorizing a strike with just days to go until the first World Cup match. That authorization gave the employer a clear incentive to return to the table.
About 2,000 workers reached a tentative agreement with Legends Hospitality just days before FIFA World Cup began, according to the union. Workers were set to ratify the deal this week, after which the union said it would release more details.
The urgency wasn’t only about schedules or wages; it was about who would be inside the stadium and what would happen to workers in the middle of the event. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin had said that “every single” federal law enforcement agency would be on site at the tournament. adding: “If we have people coming in that’s on the terrorist watchlist. we’re going to collapse on them. That’s not going to [just] be ICE, that could be state police that collapse on them. We’re all working together.”.
Another flashpoint was FIFA’s own process. The international soccer governing body is enforcing an accreditation process that involves collecting stadium workers’ personal data and sharing it with the Department of Homeland Security prior to the World Cup.
Yolanda Fierro. a stadium worker and union member. said in a May statement that workers were “seriously concerned” FIFA would hand over “our most sensitive personal information” and “waive our rights under California law. or lose our job working the World Cup.” She added: “We cannot celebrate the World Cup while workers. tourists. immigrant families. and local communities are made to feel unsafe.”.
Workers also pointed to how much money the tournament stands to bring in for their employer. Legends Global—the worldwide venue management company—would earn enormous revenues from the World Cup. including from luxury suite packages worth more than $100. 000. the union said. Yet the union argued the proposed compensation didn’t match the stakes.
According to UNITE HERE Local 11. Legends Global’s most recent proposal included wage freezes for some suite attendants and bartenders and 25 cents-an-hour annual increases for cooks and dishwashers—numbers workers said were inadequate even in a high-pressure environment that they believed could include immigration-related risks.
This World Cup is already happening against a backdrop of power and refusal that has touched soccer itself. The tournament has been marked by abuses of power, including the Trump administration’s denial of visas to national team players, staff, and match officials.
Still. on Wednesday night at SoFi Stadium. roughly 2. 000 food and beverage workers managed to score a concrete win before kickoff: a contract ratified by a 99-1 vote. with raises of at least 30 percent and. most importantly for these workers. a built-in right to walk off the job if federal immigration enforcement threatens their safety during a match.
SoFi Stadium FIFA Men’s World Cup UNITE HERE Local 11 Legends Hospitality Legends Global immigration enforcement ICE Markwayne Mullin labor contract walkout rights wage increases
So basically they’re getting paid more? Good.
99-1 seems wild. I don’t even know why immigration enforcement is involved with bartenders though. Like, can’t they just do the job and not make it a political thing?
Wait, walk off protections if immigration shows up? SoFIs really that unsafe? I saw something about “AI restrictions” too, like… do they think a robot is gonna serve tacos at the World Cup lol. I’m not against workers, just confused how federal stuff ties into the stadium.
This is what happens when everyone pretends they’ll “enforce immigration” but then it’s always stadiums and hotels getting in trouble. If they can walk out when ICE is around, then what stops them from walking out for any reason? Also $30 percent raises right before the tournament… sounds like they held the whole place hostage. Not saying they’re wrong, just saying. I don’t trust any of it.