World Cup 2023: Labor Strikes Loom in Host Cities
As the World Cup countdown ticks toward 11 June, tension is rising far from the pitch.
In three US host cities, the workers who will feed, serve and welcome fans from around the world are threatening to walk away just as the tournament begins, warning that the showpiece event could open under the shadow of strikes and labor unrest.
SoFi Stadium: World Cup opener, strike on standby
In Los Angeles, the stadium set to host the US’s opening match against Paraguay on 12 June is sitting on a fault line of its own.
About 2,000 hospitality workers at SoFi Stadium, represented by Unite Here Local 11, have voted by a resounding 96% to authorize a strike. Cashiers, dishwashers, cooks, bartenders, concessions workers and food attendants are all covered. They can walk out at any moment.
Their demands are blunt: a new union contract with meaningful wage increases and protections from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Many are pushing for pay above $30 an hour.
“We’re just trying to make things fair,” said Eva Miles, a bartender who has worked at SoFi since it opened in 2021. She spends two hours commuting to the stadium every day, and says some colleagues travel even farther because they cannot afford to live nearby on their current wages.
“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. “Let’s see them live on our wage, let’s see them raise a family.”
Miles talks about the pride she takes in the job: greeting new faces, making sure guests enjoy themselves, knowing how much money fans and organizers are pouring into the Fifa World Cup. That contrast fuels her frustration.
“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 labor fight in Los Angeles isn’t only about wages. 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 over Fifa’s accreditation policy, which they say forces workers to divulge immigration information just to work the tournament.
For a union whose history is rooted in immigrant struggle, the issue cuts deep. Unite Here counts members from nearly 200 countries and traces its origins back to the 1912 Bread and Roses strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts, when immigrant textile workers led a landmark labor revolt.
“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,” said Enrique Fernández, the union’s general vice-president for immigration, civil rights and diversity.
SoFi Stadium declined to comment, pointing instead 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 company 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).”
For that to happen, the two sides must now close the gap before the world arrives.
Seattle: skeleton crews near Lumen Field
Hundreds of miles north, another World Cup venue is bracing for possible disruption.
In Seattle, where Lumen Field will host six World Cup games, about 100 hotel workers at the Embassy Suite Hilton have also voted to authorize a strike. Unite Here Local 8 says 94% backed the move.
Their priorities mirror those in Los Angeles: higher pay, year-round health insurance coverage, protections from ICE and improved staffing.
“We need the wages to improve,” said front desk worker Hayden Eyerly, who described annual offers of roughly 80 cents an hour in raises over the life of the contract. With the cost of living and gas prices climbing, he said, “No one here thinks that is reasonable.”
The pressure is not only financial. Eyerly said some workers regularly lose health insurance during the tourism offseason when their hours are cut. Staffing levels, he added, still have not returned to what they were before the pandemic.
“Everyone is very tired. Every department has been working on a skeleton crew,” he said. Many of his coworkers are immigrants who, he noted, have been advised by their immigration attorney not to speak publicly out of fear of retaliation tied to their status.
“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.”
Hilton, which manages the property, insists it is prepared if the dispute boils over.
A spokesperson said the hotel has contingency plans in place should a strike occur and added: “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.”
With the World Cup expected to flood Seattle with visitors, those “contingency plans” may be tested sooner rather than later.
Philadelphia: hotels, big money and a hard deadline
On the other side of the country, Philadelphia’s World Cup build-up carries its own labor flashpoint.
Workers at six hotels in the city, represented by Unite Here Local 274, are threatening strikes during the tournament after their contracts expired with no new agreements in place. The union has set a strike deadline of 12 June, the same date as the US opener in Los Angeles, if deals are not reached.
At the Wyndham Philadelphia Historic District, server Maciah Magloughlin says staff are pushing for significant wage hikes, 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. For him, that figure is the heart of the argument.
“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, like the employers in Los Angeles and Seattle, has tried to strike a measured tone in public.
“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 World Cup built on fragile foundations
The World Cup is often sold as a celebration of global unity, a month when national colors and anthems drown out everything else. In the US host cities, another reality is pushing its way into view: the workers who will cook the food, clean the rooms and pour the drinks are demanding their own moment.
They see record tourism, massive broadcast deals and eye-watering economic impact projections. They see long commutes, thin paychecks and the constant threat of immigration enforcement.
The tournament will still kick off on 11 June. The question now is whether, by then, the people serving the spectacle will have secured more than just a front-row seat to everyone else’s party.
