Workers are ready to welcome soccer fans to their cities, but major disruptions—including strikes—are possible

Updated June 9, 2026

NATIONWIDE—In a few short weeks, 11 U.S. cities will welcome players, fans, and world leaders as they play host to the games of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. These games are an opportunity for the world to come together around sport. For the hospitality industry, they also bring the opportunity for a much-needed reprieve from the negative economic impact of Trump administration immigration policies. But UNITE HERE, the hospitality workers union, warns that major labor disruptions are possible in some U.S. host cities.

Major global events like the World Cup cause major disruptions to the lives of the people working them. In many cases, workloads increase exponentially. Travel to and from work becomes more complicated. In the case of the World Cup, all stadium workers are required by FIFA to submit to a mandatory background check that invades workers’ privacy and adds an extra layer of anxiety. Every worker who makes the World Cup possible should reap the benefits of this once-in-a-lifetime event, but labor disputes may plague the following World Cup venues, hotels, and/or airports in the U.S.

LOS ANGELES: More than 2,000 bartenders, cooks, dishwashers and servers at SoFi Stadium are bargaining for a new union contract.  They are demanding that FIFA end an accreditation policy requiring workers to divulge immigration information as a condition of working the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The workers have also called on FIFA to urge the Trump Administration to keep ICE out of the World Cup. They will hold a strike authorization vote on June 4th and 5th.

“We have been very clear: we want ICE OUT of the World Cup and for them to play NO ROLE during the games. We are seriously concerned that FIFA will hand over our most sensitive personal information and waive our rights under California law, or that we could lose our jobs working the World Cup. 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,” said Yolanda Fierro, Suites Runner at Sofi Stadium and member of UNITE HERE Local 11.

PHILADELPHIA: While several hotels have settled landmark agreements with UNITE HERE Local 274, contracts are still expired at multiple Center City hotels in Philadelphia. Negotiations are ongoing, but workers are prepared to strike during the games if settlements are not reached. Visitors to Philadelphia are encouraged to check PhillyTravelAlert.org to monitor whether their stay may be impacted.

“If we have to, we are prepared to strike all the way through the World Cup, all the way through the 4th of July,” said Maciah Magloughlin, a server at the Wyndham Philadelphia Historic District and member of UNITE HERE Local 274. “We love our city. We want this summer to be one for the history books. But its success will not be on the backs of hotel workers.”

SEATTLE: Ahead of the World Cup, unionized hotel workers are now voting to strike at Hilton’s Embassy Suites Pioneer Square in Seattle. Embassy Suites sits next to Lumen Field, where World Cup games will be played. Workers are fighting alongside UNITE HERE Local 8 for a new union contract that includes year-round healthcare coverage, protections from ICE, fair raises, and a return to pre-pandemic staffing levels. The vote to authorize a strike will place this Friday, June 5. Once a strike is authorized, the union could call a strike at any time, including during the World Cup games.

“The market right now is bad for the whole country,” said Stiliano Hibroj, an Embassy Suites banquet houseman. “Housing, bills, groceries – everything costs more. The raises the hotel is offering are ridiculous.”

MIAMI: In Miami, workers at several companies inside the MIA Airport and several hotels in the Miami area are scheduled to vote to authorize strikes this month. They are fighting alongside UNITE HERE Local 355 for $25 an hour, a pension, and lower cost family healthcare. Miami is extremely expensive, and the hotel room attendants, baristas, servers, and cooks who warmly greet travelers are fighting for the wages they need to make ends meet in the city they call home.

“I came to Miami from Matanza, Cuba seeking better a better life. I thought working at the airport would give me stability to work hard and progress. I enjoy being a cook but it’s an exhausting job. We work under high heat and stress to make sure visitors have a good meal,” said Alexander Abreu, who has been a cook at Areas at the Heron Corona Beach House at Miami International Airport for 8 years. “I make $18.35 an hour. It’s not enough. My rent in Kendall went from $2,100 to $2,400. I’m prepared to do whatever is necessary including going on strike to get what we deserve. At this point it’s just disrespectful. Areas can afford to give us a raise and a pension. We see all the changes happening at the airport around the World Cup: they have a new paint job, they’re making it look nice… but we also need to be treated with the same respect.”

HOUSTON: Houston’s stadium workers face an ever-increasing cost of living, including necessities like food, rent, and transportation costs. Drawing inspiration from a victorious 42-day strike at the Hilton Americas, hospitality workers across the city followed their example and are winning life-changing benefits with UNITE HERE Local 23. As the 2026 World Cup approaches, all eyes are now on Houston’s stadium hospitality workers. There may be rallies and actions directed at their employers at various locations in the city.

“I have been working at the stadium for 22 years, and I am currently making $10 dollars per hour,” said Rubie Garza, a worker in a Houston stadium and member of UNITE HERE Local 23. “I can’t keep up with my bills and I have to live with family to survive. It feels like I can never get ahead. We deserve respect because without us events like the world cup would not be possible.”

In late May, the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council UNITE HERE Local 6 and the city’s hotel industry—with support from the City of New York—came to an agreement on a new union contract for 27,000 city hotel workers. The new eight-year contract includes wage increases, free family health benefits, pension contributions, and protections on the job. The deal avoided possible strike activity during the World Cup in NYC and is an example of what local unions and their employers can accomplish together in U.S. cities.

“The World Cup should be a major economic opportunity for the hospitality industry, and a chance to recover some from decreased tourism numbers and lower-than-projected demand for hotel rooms, restaurant reservations, and the like that are caused by disastrous Trump immigration policies,” said UNITE HERE President Gwen Mills. “UNITE HERE members across the country are prepared to give a warm welcome to fans to their cities, but they may not be able to do so if they are still struggling for good union contracts that ensure good wages and benefits.”

In addition to labor unrest, the possibility exists that heavy police or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) presence outside some World Cup games or fan events may discourage attendees and/or intimidate workers as they try to do their jobs. UNITE HERE members will do their best to create a hospitable, welcoming environment for all visitors if not engaged in active labor disputes.

“Many UNITE HERE members are immigrants, including those who will be working at hospitality venues like stadiums, hotels, and airports during the World Cup. They experience the effects of anti-immigrant policy and rhetoric every day, and they don’t need the added stress of tracking ICE agents at their workplaces,” said UNITE HERE General Vice President for Immigration, Civil Rights, and Diversity Enrique Fernández. “That’s one reason we have joined the AFL-CIO in calling on FIFA leadership to keep ICE out of World Cup host cities. The World Cup presents an opportunity to restate UNITE HERE’s core values, which include the understanding that immigrants are part of what makes America great.”

Soccer fans and all individuals traveling to Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, Seattle, or Houston should be aware which properties may be subject to a labor dispute and plan to adjust their plans accordingly to avoid disruption.

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