World Cup Workers Threaten Strike at SoFi Stadium

World Cup fever is supposed to bring colour, noise and money to Los Angeles. Instead, with just weeks to go before the first ball is kicked at SoFi Stadium, the city is staring at a labour showdown that could shake preparations for football’s biggest event.

Around 2,000 catering workers at the venue – chefs, bartenders, concession staff, the people who actually keep a stadium alive on matchday – are threatening to walk out. Their union, Unite Here Local 11, has drawn a hard line: meet our demands, or risk chaos around the tournament.

Union Draws a Line at ICE Involvement

The flashpoint is not just pay or hours. It is who will be allowed to operate in and around the World Cup.

In a statement released on Monday, Unite Here Local 11 called on FIFA to bar US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from any role in organising or securing World Cup matches in Los Angeles. The warning was blunt: ignore this, and workers may escalate their action.

Their anger flared after Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, publicly stated that the agency would play a “key role” during the tournament. For the union, that sounded less like reassurance and more like a threat – not only to migrant workers staffing the stadium, but to fans in a city with deep immigrant roots.

No Contracts, Mounting Frustration

Beneath the political fight lies a more basic grievance. Many of these workers are still operating without formal contracts, despite the looming start of a global event that will pour billions into FIFA’s coffers and those of its sponsors.

The union, which represents hospitality staff at Angelwood Stadium and SoFi, says that lack of agreements has left its members exposed on everything from job security to working conditions. With eight World Cup matches scheduled for Los Angeles, including the United States’ opener against Paraguay on 12 June, the timing could hardly be more combustible.

Kronke Sports & Entertainment, the owner of SoFi Stadium, now finds itself squarely in the crosshairs alongside FIFA.

Three Core Demands for FIFA and SoFi

Unite Here Local 11 has laid out three central demands to FIFA and the stadium’s ownership group:

• A formal pledge that ICE and the Border Patrol will have no role in the organisation or operation of World Cup events at SoFi.
• Concrete guarantees protecting the jobs of union members and improving their working environment.
• Support for programmes that provide affordable housing for hospitality workers in the Los Angeles area.

The last point stretches beyond the stadium gates. The union wants backing for a workers’ housing fund, tighter rules on short-term rentals, and tax measures that would channel money into affordable homes and shield migrant families from being pushed out of neighbourhoods like Inglewood.

Fears Over AI and the Future of Stadium Jobs

The union is also looking ahead to a different kind of threat: technology.

It wants assurances that artificial intelligence and automated systems will not be used in ways that cut jobs or wipe out entire roles during the World Cup. With major events increasingly experimenting with AI-driven ticketing, security and even concessions, workers fear being squeezed out just as the tournament arrives on their doorstep.

For them, this is about more than one summer. It is about whether the people who serve, cook and clean inside these vast arenas will still have a place in them five years from now.

“Billions for FIFA, Scraps for Workers”

Kurt Petersen, co-president of Unite Here Local 11, did not mince his words. In an official statement, he accused FIFA and its sponsors of preparing to “rake in billions of dollars” while ignoring the very people who keep the show on the road.

Chefs, servers, stall workers – the backbone of the matchday experience – feel they are being treated as an afterthought in a tournament that will transform Los Angeles for a month.

The union says it has tried repeatedly to meet FIFA officials since the city was confirmed as a host. Each attempt, it claims, has been met with silence or indifference.

FIFA and SoFi Stay Quiet as Clock Ticks Down

For now, the other side has chosen not to speak.

FIFA has issued no public response to the union’s demands or the threat of a strike. SoFi Stadium officials have also stayed quiet, declining to comment on a dispute that is rapidly becoming impossible to ignore.

That silence hangs over a city preparing for eight World Cup fixtures. The United States vs Paraguay on 12 June is supposed to be a showcase – a home opener in a gleaming, state-of-the-art arena. Instead, it could unfold under the shadow of picket lines, protests, or last-minute scrambling to replace vital staff.

Los Angeles knows how to stage a global event. The question now is whether football’s powerbrokers are willing to share even a fraction of that power – and security – with the people who will be pouring the drinks and firing up the grills when the world arrives.