A union representing SoFi Stadium workers announced they reached a tentative deal with Legends Hospitality on Monday night, averting a strike during eight World Cup games set to be played in Inglewood starting Friday.
Negotiations on a labor contract between Unite Here Local 11, the union representing the cooks, dishwashers, concession workers and bartenders at SoFi and, Legends Global, the stadium’s food-service operator, concluded after 96% of union members on Friday authorized a strike.
“We are pleased to have reached an agreement with Unite Here Local 11 and look forward to delivering an outstanding hospitality experience for fans at the FIFA World Cup matches at Los Angeles Stadium [SoFi Stadium,]” Legends Global said in a statement.
Union members have been working without a contract for a year and Kurt Petersen, the union’s co-president, said Unite Here demanded salary increases, protection against subcontracting and job loss through automation, and opposed the collection of sensitive private information such as nationality and home addresses that FIFA, organizer of the World Cup, said it needs to accredit workers.
Legends Global had promised to continue negotiations while also working to make sure a potential work stoppage would not interrupt game-day operations.
One of the biggest obstacles during the labor dispute included FIFA’s security requirements because the global soccer governing body was not directly involved in negotiations.
According to Petersen, when workers were originally hired by Legends they submitted the documentation necessary for employment, and under the current collective bargaining agreement the company does not have the right to request it again for FIFA.
“Workers have the contractual right to walk off the job if the union determines in good faith that federal immigration enforcement threatens worker safety during a World Cup match,” Local 11 posted on its social media accounts announcing the deal.
FIFA has refused to comment on the contract talks, saying they are “between Legends Global and Unite Here Local 11.” But its insistence on collecting personal information is something Legends cannot address during contract talks, which makes a resolution impossible.
FIFA said it was partnering with the governments of the U.S., Canada and Mexico, the three countries in which the 39-day tournament will be played, “to enhance safety and security of all workers, staff, team members, vendors, journalists, volunteers, and spectators by mitigating potential insider threats. … Such name checks do not constitute pre-employment checks.”
All data collected during the name-check process, FIFA said, will be processed “in accordance with applicable data protection and privacy laws, and will be deleted by FIFA as soon as it is no longer needed for purposes of adjudicating requests for credentialed access to FIFA-controlled spaces.
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