2,000 SoFi Stadium Workers Ratify Contract With $40/Hour Pay and a Right to Strike Over ICE Raids

About 2,000 food service workers at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, ratified a new labor contract on June 11, 2026, averting a threatened strike five days before the stadium hosted its first 2026 FIFA World Cup match.

The workers — dishwashers, cooks, bartenders, servers, and concession staff represented by UNITE HERE Local 11 — voted 96 percent in favor of a strike authorization on June 6 after negotiations with Legends Hospitality, the food-and-beverage subcontractor running stadium operations, stalled. They ratified the final contract 99 percent in favor, according to reporting by the American Bazaar and KFIAM 640.

The U.S. men's national team played their opening World Cup match against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium on June 12, one day after the ratification vote. The stadium is scheduled to host eight total matches, including a semifinal and the championship final.

What the contract delivers

UNITE HERE Local 11 said the contract includes:

• Wage increases bringing most workers above $40 per hour, with tip workers receiving pay increases of at least 30 percent.
• Premium pay for World Cup matches and next year's Super Bowl.
• Job security provisions against subcontracting and displacement by automation.
• An explicit right to strike if ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) or U.S. Border Patrol activity at the worksite "threatens worker safety" — a provision UNITE HERE Local 11 said legal experts described as unprecedented in modern American labor history.

The ICE clause

Workers at SoFi Stadium and other World Cup venues had raised immigration enforcement as a safety concern for months leading up to the tournament. Earlier this year, UNITE HERE Local 11 sent a letter to FIFA urging the organization to bar ICE from World Cup venues, saying federal immigration enforcement at active worksites put many of the stadium's workers at direct risk.

The contract language grants workers the right to leave the worksite or strike if federal immigration agents arrive and workers determine their safety is at risk — a collectively bargained protection that goes beyond standard contract language, according to the union.

Background

SoFi Stadium opened in 2020 and is home to the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers. Legends Hospitality, the company that manages food and beverage at the venue under contract with SoFi, employs the approximately 2,000 workers covered by the UNITE HERE contract.

For more of 411 Press's labor coverage, see the House vote on the Faster Labor Contracts Act, the UAW Local 699 strike authorization at Nexteer in Saginaw, and the UAW strike at American Axle's Three Rivers plant.