LA World Cup Workers Threaten Strike Over ICE Presence and Unfair Conditions

Workers at Los Angeles’s SoFi Stadium, where eight World Cup matches will be played this summer, are gearing up for a potential strike that could disrupt one of the world’s biggest sporting events. Unite Here Local 11, the hospitality union representing roughly 2,000 stadium workers, has sent a sharp warning to FIFA president Gianni Infantino and stadium owner Stan Kroenke demanding fair labor practices and the removal of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from the tournament’s security operations.

The World Cup will thrust Los Angeles into the global spotlight between June and July, with an expected influx of 150,000 visitors. Despite the high-profile nature of the event, union co-president Kurt Petersen points to a troubling pattern of exploitation. Petersen’s letter highlights past FIFA tournaments plagued by wage theft and unsafe working conditions overseas and insists these abuses must not be replicated in LA.

A particularly incendiary demand is for FIFA to publicly denounce ICE’s involvement in the event. Petersen calls ICE’s presence “unacceptable,” noting the agency’s recent deadly enforcement actions, including the shooting of two American citizens in Minnesota. At a congressional hearing earlier this year, ICE’s acting director Todd Lyons confirmed that homeland security investigations would be integral to World Cup security, a stance that only fuels workers’ anger and fear.

Petersen also singles out Airbnb for exacerbating Los Angeles’s affordable housing crisis, which hits hospitality workers hardest. The union demands FIFA sever ties with Airbnb and contribute to a housing fund to help workers afford to live in the city they serve. This comes after Airbnb launched a $750 incentive to attract new hosts in North American World Cup cities, a move critics say worsens housing scarcity.

“The world will be watching Los Angeles this summer,” Petersen writes. “Billions of fans will see the city as FIFA intends to present it – welcoming, and alive with possibility. But behind every meal served and every drink poured will be workers who deserve more than promises. They deserve safe and fair working conditions and a community they can afford to live in.”

If FIFA and Kroenke fail to meet these demands, the union’s strike threat looms large, risking disruption at an event meant to showcase global unity but instead exposing deep local inequalities and the corrosive presence of a controversial federal agency. This labor showdown shines a harsh light on the intersection of global spectacle, local exploitation, and the ongoing battle over immigration enforcement in America.