The union representing roughly 2,000 hospitality workers at SoFi Stadium announced a tentative contract agreement Tuesday, averting a potential strike days before the venue hosts its first FIFA World Cup match.
The agreement, which is subject to ratification by workers Wednesday, comes less than a week after members of Unite Here Local 11 voted 96% to authorize a strike amid stalled negotiations.
The union celebrated the agreement in a post on X, writing, “We are proud to say that we won every major issue we brought to the table. And even more, we preserved the right to strike over safety.”
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The proposed contract includes a 40% pay increase for concession stand attendants, premium pay for World Cup matches and other major events, and contributions to a housing fund intended to help create affordable housing for hospitality workers, according to The Athletic.
The outlet reported that, according to Unite Here Local 11 Co-President Kurt Petersen, the agreement will make SoFi Stadium concessions workers the highest-paid at NFL venues, with most workers earning more than $40 per hour.
The agreement also includes language allowing workers to walk off the job if the union determines the presence of federal agents, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, creates a “reasonable apprehension of harm to the safety and security of workers,” The Athletic reported.
“We have been very clear, we want ICE out of the World Cup and for them to play no role during the games,” Yolanda Fierro, a suites runner at SoFi Stadium, said in a statement late last month.
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The union had raised concerns about FIFA’s accreditation process for World Cup workers, which requires the submission of personal information including Social Security numbers and fingerprints.
The agreement reportedly also includes provisions governing future accreditation processes for major sporting events, ensuring workers will not be required to provide the same level of personal information for events such as the Super Bowl or Olympic Games.
“We are seriously concerned that FIFA will hand over our most sensitive personal information and waive our rights under California law, or (we will) lose our job working the World Cup,” Fierro said. “We will not give FIFA the opportunity to share our data with any third party, including ICE and foreign countries’ intelligence agencies. We cannot celebrate the World Cup while workers, tourists, immigrant families, and local communities are made to feel unsafe. Los Angeles should be a city of welcome — not fear.”
Petersen told the outlet that workers cannot be retaliated against or denied work if they refuse to provide such information for future mega-events.
The union represents cooks, dishwashers, concession workers, bartenders and servers employed at SoFi Stadium. Negotiations with stadium food-service operator Legends Global broke down last week after the union said there had been little progress on wages, job protections and immigration-related concerns.
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Union officials had also sought assurances that ICE agents would play no role in World Cup security operations and expressed concerns that workers’ personal information could be shared with federal immigration authorities.
The union, along with the ACLU of Southern California, previously filed a complaint urging California Attorney General Rob Bonta to investigate FIFA’s accreditation process, arguing that worker privacy rights could be jeopardized by the collection and sharing of personal information.
The first of eight World Cup matches at SoFi Stadium is scheduled for Friday, when the United States faces Paraguay.