By Rory Carroll
LOS ANGELES, June 9 (Reuters) – A union representing about 2,000 food and beverage workers at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium said it reached a tentative contract agreement with Legends Hospitality days before the start of the World Cup.
Unite Here Local 11 said the agreement includes major wage increases, limits on subcontracting, restrictions on new automation technology and privacy protections related to worker accreditation for major events.
The union said the deal also gives workers the right to strike if it determines in good faith that activity by ICE, Border Patrol or other federal immigration agencies at the worksite threatens worker safety during a World Cup match. The union described the provision as unprecedented.
Workers are scheduled to vote on whether to ratify the agreement on Wednesday. Full details of the contract are expected to be released after the vote.
The contract would expire on April 30, 2028, aligning it with more than 100 other stadium, hotel and airport concessions contracts set to expire before the Los Angeles Olympics in two years’ time, the union said.
“These workers are heroes,” Kurt Petersen, co-president of Unite Here Local 11, said in a statement. “If federal immigration agencies threaten workers’ safety, our members have the right to walk off the job. That is now in their contract.”
The U.S. will play Paraguay on Friday at the SoFi Stadium, which will be called Los Angeles Stadium during the tournament, in the first of eight matches due to be held at the venue.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
