Over thousands of employees working in SoFi Stadium have massively voted in favour of a strike just days before 2026 Fifa World Cup, which begins in the US.
Around 2000 food catering staff members at Los Angeles stadium have voted to authorize a strike after the Unite Here Local 11 union revealed that 96 per cent of workers voted to take industrial action. It puts management under additional strain given the sheer volume of games scheduled at SoFi Stadium; it is scheduled to host eight matches at 2026 World Cup.
The debate centers on pay, job security and the presence of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at stadium during the tournament. The staff members expressed concern over their safety if employees are there on a visa and over the safety of their colleagues of an immigrant background. Employees have also put in requests to have the protection to be able to stop working in circumstances where it is reasonably safe to do so if immigration officers are present at the stadium.
The Department of Homeland Security, though, has stressed that the ICE officers will be purely in the World Cup tournament to look for issues such as human trafficking and counterfeiting and the like.
Legends Global; their food and beverage operators haven’t yet offered a comment with regards to the strike vote.
Employees are set to sit down with management to try and reach a compromise on June 8; but with the USA to play Paraguay at their first group game on June 12, issues could arise.
