SoFi Stadium Labor Deal Struck Days As World Cup Looms

Members of the union representing roughly 2,000 hospitality workers at SoFi Stadium will vote on a new contract Wednesday after a tentative deal to avoid a strike was reached just days before the FIFA Men’s World Cup begins.

UNITE HERE Local 11 — which represents cashiers, concession workers, bartenders, dishwashers, cooks and food attendants at the Inglewood, California, venue — announced the agreement with the stadium’s hospitality contractor Legends Global Tuesday.

Under the deal, which local co-president Kurt Petersen said was “the strongest at any NFL stadium,” most workers will receive raises that bring their wage to $40 an hour or more with tipped workers receiving a 30% pay increase.

Notably, the deal includes a specific right to strike immediately if ICE or Border Patrol activity at the stadium threatens worker safety.

“These workers are heroes. They stood up to FIFA. They stood up to ICE. They won a historic contract, and they are ready for whatever comes during the World Cup. If federal immigration agencies threaten workers’ safety, our members have the right to walk off the job. That is now in their contract,” Petersen said at a news conference announcing the agreement.

The deal expires a few months before the start of the 2028 Olympics, at the end of April 2028, in line with numerous other contracts.

The U.S. opens its World Cup campaign against Paraguay June 12 at SoFi Stadium, which will be known as Los Angeles Stadium during the World Cup in compliance with FIFA’s regulations on corporate sponsorship.