World Cup 2026: SoFi Stadium workers to vote on strike as soccer tournament preparations continue

INGLEWOOD, Calif. () — One week before the start of the 2026 World Cup, thousands of union workers at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood were set to begin voting on whether to authorize a strike over economic and security issues.

The stadium’s cooks, dishwashers, concession workers, bartenders and servers, represented by Unite Here Local 11, will vote on Thursday and Friday.

“Contract negotiations with stadium food service operator, Legends Global, and FIFA have stalled with no significant progress,” Unite Here said in a statement. “Union members point to the enormous revenues SoFi Stadium, including individual suite packages for more than $100,000, will generate during the World Cup and demand that the frontline workers providing this hospitality service deserve a fair share.”

According to the union, which represents more than 32,000 hospitality workers in Southern California, Legends Global’s most recent proposal includes wage freezes for some suite attendants and bartenders, as well as 25 cents-an-hour annual increases for cooks and dishwashers.

Unite Here’s members are also “demanding safety protections from ICE activity at the workplace and job protections against subcontracting and automation,” the news release said, adding that workers could walk off the job “at any moment” if the strike were authorized.

“It’s kind of scary when you feel that you’re in a bubble and you’re trying to walk to work, and not knowing if somebody is going to snatch and grab you and take you into custody because of how you look,” Yolanda Fierro, a suites runner at the stadium, told 7. “We just want to get to work, have fun, take care of our clients.”

Meanwhile, the World Cup is expected to feature an unprecedented trio of star-studded opening ceremonies in the host nations, the United States, Canada and Mexico, created by the Italian producer behind the opening ceremony for this year’s Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

Marco Balich, fresh off the Olympics opening ceremony, which included a parade of athletes spread across four venues, said he was up to the challenge of producing three shows in three cities, with teams numbering 260 to 300 people in each city.

The ceremonies’ unifying theme will be “the celebration of sports, the passion for soccer, symbolized by the cup itself,” Balich said. “The idea is to narrate with three points of view and languages,” using design aesthetics representative of each culture.

International stars will take the stage at SoFi Stadium, including Katy Perry, global pop star LISA, Nigerian Afrobeats star Rema, Brazilian pop artist Anitta, and hip-hop artist Future.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.