Workers Threaten Strike Ahead of World Cup in US Cities
As the World Cup countdown ticks toward 11 June, a different kind of tension is building in several US host cities — not in the dressing rooms, but behind the bars, in the kitchens, and at hotel front desks.
The world’s biggest football tournament is about to land. The workers who will feed, serve and host the crowds are threatening to walk.
Strike votes in the shadow of the World Cup
In Los Angeles, the warning siren has already sounded. Around 2,000 hospitality workers at SoFi Stadium, represented by Unite Here Local 11, have voted by a thumping 96% to authorize a strike as they push for a new union contract with significant wage increases and protections from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Cashiers, dishwashers, cooks, bartenders, concessions workers and food attendants could down tools at any moment. The timing could hardly be more pointed: the US men’s national team opens its World Cup campaign against Paraguay at SoFi on 12 June.
“We’re just trying to make things fair,” said Eva Miles, a bartender who has been at SoFi since it opened in 2021. For her, the stadium’s gleaming exterior hides a harsher reality. She cannot afford to live anywhere near the venue on her current pay. She spends two hours commuting each way; some of her colleagues travel even further.
“Without us, they don’t have a stadium. Are they going to cook? Are they going to pour those drinks? Are they going to serve these people?” she said. Workers are pushing for pay above $30 an hour. Miles talks about loving the job, the people, the atmosphere — but she also talks about the cost.
“Let’s see them live on our wage, let’s see them raise a family,” she added. “I know they’re spending a lot of money on this Fifa World Cup, so I don’t understand why we can’t get what we want and everybody be happy.”
The brewing conflict is not just about money. Unite Here, alongside the ACLU of Southern California and LAANE, has filed a formal complaint with the California Privacy Protection Agency and the state’s department of justice. At the heart of it is Fifa’s accreditation policy, which they say forces workers to divulge immigration information to be allowed to work the tournament.
For a union whose membership is heavily immigrant, that demand cuts deep. Enrique Fernández, general vice-president for immigration, civil rights, and diversity at Unite Here, pointed out that members come from nearly 200 countries, and that the union’s roots stretch back to the 1912 Bread and Roses strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts — a landmark walkout led by immigrant textile workers.
“They experience the effects of anti-immigrant policy and rhetoric every day, and they don’t need the added stress of tracking ICE agents at their workplaces,” Fernández said.
SoFi Stadium declined to comment on the labor dispute, referring questions to Legends Global, the concessionaire that employs the workers. In a statement, Legends struck a conciliatory tone.
“Legends Global has enjoyed a strong relationship with Unite Here Local 11 for more than a decade and remains committed to reaching a fair agreement through good faith negotiations,” a spokesperson said by email. “We look forward to delivering an outstanding hospitality experience for fans at the Fifa World Cup matches at Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium).”
The message is clear: the show must go on. The workers are signaling they might have other ideas.
Seattle: skeleton crews and thin margins
The unrest is not confined to Southern California. Up in Seattle, another World Cup city, hotel workers are also bracing for a showdown.
At the Embassy Suite Hilton near Lumen Field — where six World Cup games will be staged — about 100 workers represented by Unite Here Local 8 have voted 94% in favor of a strike authorization. Their demands echo those in Los Angeles: pay increases, year-round health insurance, protections from ICE, and better staffing levels.
“We need the wages to improve,” said Hayden Eyerly, a front desk employee. He said the hotel has only put forward annual raises of around $0.80 an hour over the length of the contract. For workers watching gas and grocery prices surge, that offer has landed badly.
“No one here thinks that is reasonable, because of the rising cost of everything, gas prices in particular,” he said.
The fight is not only about the size of the paycheck. Eyerly explained that some workers regularly lose health insurance in the tourism offseason when their hours drop, leaving them exposed just as the industry gears up for a lucrative summer. Staffing, he said, has never truly recovered from the pandemic cuts.
“Everyone is very tired. Every department has been working on a skeleton crew,” he added. “We’re trying to make real changes, a real positive impact in our lives. We all deserve to work one job, we all deserve to come home and have the energy to be there for our families.”
Many of his colleagues are immigrants. According to Eyerly, some have been advised by their immigration attorneys not to speak publicly, out of fear that any visibility could invite retaliation linked to their immigration status.
Hilton, for its part, has tried to project calm. A spokesperson said the hotel has contingency plans if a strike hits and stressed that management remains “committed to negotiating in good faith to reach a fair and reasonable agreement that benefits both our valued Team Members and our hotel.”
The World Cup will bring the world to Seattle. The workers who will check those fans in are still waiting to see if they will share in the windfall.
Philadelphia: chasing a share of a $770m summer
On the opposite side of the country, another front is opening. In Philadelphia, workers at six hotels represented by Unite Here Local 274 are threatening to strike during the city’s World Cup games after their contracts expired without new deals.
The clock is already running. A strike deadline of 12 June has been set if agreements are not reached.
At the Wyndham Philadelphia Historic District, server Maciah Magloughlin spelled out what workers are chasing: substantial wage increases, a cap of 15 rooms per day for housekeepers, ICE protections for immigrant workers, and more affordable health coverage for dependents.
“The hotels have the money to give us what we deserve,” Magloughlin said, pointing to a projected $770m economic impact from the World Cup for the Philadelphia area. That number looms large in union rhetoric. The argument is simple: if the city and its hospitality sector are set for a record summer, the people doing the labor should not be left scrambling to pay for school supplies or groceries.
“What we’re fighting for is that the people who hold this industry up on their back also get a piece of that, because people are fighting to send their kids to school or take time off or buy groceries, and that’s not fair, especially when we’ve got such a big summer coming,” Magloughlin said.
The Wyndham Philadelphia Historic District, like other employers caught in the middle of a global showpiece and a local labor battle, has tried to strike a measured note.
“We respect our team members’ rights to engage in legally protected activities and look forward to reaching a fair contract. While discussions are ongoing, we remain committed to ensuring our guests enjoy their stay,” the hotel said in a statement.
A tournament built on fragile ground
As the World Cup nears, Fifa’s promotional imagery will lean on soaring stadium shots, packed fan zones and the promise of a festival of football. The reality beneath that gloss is more complicated.
In Los Angeles, Seattle and Philadelphia, the workers who will serve the food, pour the drinks, clean the rooms and welcome the guests are testing their leverage at the moment of maximum visibility. They are targeting not just higher wages, but the right to work a single job and return home with enough energy — and security — to look after their families, without the shadow of immigration enforcement hanging over them.
The ball will roll on 11 June. The question now is whether thousands of the people who make these events function will be on the job when it does.
