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ICE Raids at World Cup Games? A Los Angeles Union Says, No Way!
https://prospect.org/2026/06/09/ice-raids-world-cup-los-angeles-union-unite-here/Harold Meyerson
The L.A. local of hotel and restaurant workers settles a contract dispute, but reserves the right to strike if ICE appears at Friday's kickoff.
On Friday, the first World Cup match featuring the U.S. team will be held at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, one of those innumerable small cities nestled in the very heart of Los Angeles. Whether those in attendance will have access to food and drink, however, is much in doubt, as the 2,000 workers who prepare, sell, and serve said food and drink may go on strike, for reasons political, humane, and existential. Their union--Local 11 of UNITE HERE, which represents hundreds of thousands of hotel and restaurant workers across the country--has told the stadium's food contractor, Legends Global, and World Cup sponsor FIFA that the workers won't be on the job unless they guarantee that ICE agents will be kept away from the stadium.
Local 11 had other more conventional demands on wage increases and the like, and this afternoon reached an accord on them with Legends Global. The union stated, however, that it reserved the right to walk off the job if ICE agents appeared at the stadium. On social media, the local stated that "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."
Soccer, of course, is the pre-eminent team sport in much of the world, and very much so in Latin America. In the U.S., its fan base disproportionately tilts toward immigrants, and in Los Angeles, most of those immigrants, and many thousands of the fans expected to fill the stadium on Friday, will be immigrants from Latin America. For that matter, so will many of those food servers.
Local 11 has an almost unmatched history--not just locally, but nationally, too--as an advocate and defender of immigrants. Since its corrupt leadership was ousted by a rank-and-file revolt in the late 1980s, it has led the charge for immigrant rights in the industries where its members work, as well as in Los Angeles, California, and the nation.
. . .
Local 11 had other more conventional demands on wage increases and the like, and this afternoon reached an accord on them with Legends Global. The union stated, however, that it reserved the right to walk off the job if ICE agents appeared at the stadium. On social media, the local stated that "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."
Soccer, of course, is the pre-eminent team sport in much of the world, and very much so in Latin America. In the U.S., its fan base disproportionately tilts toward immigrants, and in Los Angeles, most of those immigrants, and many thousands of the fans expected to fill the stadium on Friday, will be immigrants from Latin America. For that matter, so will many of those food servers.
Local 11 has an almost unmatched history--not just locally, but nationally, too--as an advocate and defender of immigrants. Since its corrupt leadership was ousted by a rank-and-file revolt in the late 1980s, it has led the charge for immigrant rights in the industries where its members work, as well as in Los Angeles, California, and the nation.
. . .