Strike Votes Ahead of the World Cup in US Host Cities

As the World Cup countdown ticks toward 11 June, a different kind of tension is building in several US host cities. Not on the pitch, but behind the bars, in hotel corridors and at concession stands, thousands of workers are preparing for a showdown of their own.

Strike votes on the eve of the World Cup

In Los Angeles, the glittering SoFi Stadium – set to host the US’s opening match against Paraguay on 12 June – could be without much of the staff that keeps it running. About 2,000 hospitality workers represented by Unite Here Local 11 have voted by a resounding 96% to authorize a strike as they push for a new contract.

Cashiers, dishwashers, cooks, bartenders, concessions workers and food attendants are all covered by the vote. They can walk off the job at any time.

“We’re just trying to make things fair,” said Eva Miles, a bartender at SoFi since it opened in 2021. “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?”

For Miles, the issue is brutally simple: the numbers don’t add up. She cannot afford to live anywhere near the stadium on her current wage and spends two hours commuting each way. Some of her colleagues travel even farther.

“Let’s see them live on our wage, let’s see them raise a family,” she said. Workers are pushing for pay above $30 an hour. “I’ve been there since the beginning. I love meeting new people. I want my guests to be happy, and I want them to enjoy it and have a great experience. I know they spend a lot of money, and 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.”

Immigration fears collide with global spectacle

The fight in Los Angeles isn’t just about pay. Unite Here, the ACLU of Southern California and LAANE have filed a formal complaint with the California Privacy Protection Agency and the state department of justice, challenging Fifa’s accreditation policy. To work the World Cup, staff are being asked to divulge immigration information, a demand unions say puts immigrant workers at risk.

Enrique Fernández, general vice-president for immigration, civil rights and diversity at Unite Here, pointed to the make-up of the union’s membership. Many are immigrants, and they will be on the frontlines of hospitality at venues across all the World Cup host cities.

The union’s roots run deep in immigrant labor history, tracing back to the 1912 Bread and Roses strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts, led by immigrant textile workers. That legacy still shapes its identity.

“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, referring questions to Legends Global, the concessionaire that employs the workers.

“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 in an 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 from management is reassurance. The message from workers is pressure.

Seattle hotel staff push back

The unrest is not confined to California.

In Seattle, just steps from Lumen Field – where six World Cup games will be played – workers at the Embassy Suite Hilton have delivered their own warning. About 100 hotel employees, represented by Unite Here Local 8, voted 94% in favor of a strike authorization as they seek higher wages, year-round health insurance, protections from ICE and better staffing levels.

“We need the wages to improve,” said Hayden Eyerly, a front desk worker at the hotel. He said management has only offered raises of around $0.80 an hour annually over the length of the contract. For staff staring down soaring living costs, that offer landed badly.

“No one here thinks that is reasonable, because of the rising cost of everything, gas prices in particular,” he said.

Health coverage is another flashpoint. Eyerly said some workers lose their insurance in the tourism offseason when their hours drop, leaving them exposed until business picks up again. Staffing, he added, still hasn’t rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, leaving departments stretched thin.

“Everyone is very tired. Every department has been working on a skeleton crew,” Eyerly said. “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, but Eyerly said they had been advised by their immigration attorney not to speak to the media, fearing retaliation that could affect their status.

Hilton, for its part, signaled it is prepared if picket lines go up.

A spokesperson said the hotel has contingency plans in place in case of a strike. “We remain committed to negotiating in good faith to reach a fair and reasonable agreement that benefits both our valued Team Members and our hotel,” the spokesperson said in an email.

Philadelphia’s deadline

On the opposite coast, another clock is ticking.

In Philadelphia, workers at six hotels represented by Unite Here Local 274 are threatening strikes during the city’s World Cup schedule after their contracts expired without new deals. The union has set a 12 June strike deadline if agreements are not reached.

At the Wyndham Philadelphia Historic District, server Maciah Magloughlin said staff are demanding substantial wage increases, a cap of 15 rooms per day for housekeepers, protections from ICE 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. “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.”

The Wyndham Philadelphia Historic District said in a statement that it respects employees’ rights to engage in legally protected activity and is continuing to negotiate.

“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.”

A World Cup built on fragile ground

The World Cup is sold as a celebration of the global game, a seamless festival of color and noise. In the US host cities, that gloss is colliding with the reality of the workers who will cook the meals, clean the rooms and pour the drinks that make the spectacle possible.

Strike authorizations in Los Angeles and Seattle, open threats in Philadelphia, formal complaints over immigration data – all of it lands in the same tight window before the first ball is kicked.

The stadiums will be ready. The question now is whether the people who keep them running will be there on the terms they say they need.