Stadium workers in World Cup host cities across the United States are threatening to walk off the job less than a week before games at the international event are set to begin.
The union representing workers at Los Angele' SoFi stadium said on Friday its members, including cashiers, concession workers, bartenders, dishwashers, cooks and food attendants, voted 96% in favor of a strike.
UNITE HERE Local 11 has said they will make announcement sometime this evening.
"Workers could walk off the job at any moment if their demands are not met," UNITE HERE Local 11 said, according to NPR.
Workers are demanding higher pay, security on the job and protections against subcontracting and other potential threats to the erosion of union jobs. Some SoFi workers say they their wages aren't enough for them to live near the stadium, forcing long commutes.
UNITE HERE Local 11 said back in April that its 2,000 members would strike should U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection be present at or near matches.
The strife isn't limited to Los Angeles, as the unions representing works in other host cities across the country have also threatened to strike.
In early June, nearly 4,000 private sector hotel and food service workers represented by UNITE HERE Local 274 threatened work stoppages across major hospitality and food service venues. Unions representing workers in Houston, Seattle, Philadelphia and Miami have also threatened or have already voted on a possible strike ahead of the World Cup.
“We know they’re going to make a lot of money during these events,” Yolanda Fierro, a suite runner and union member who voted to authorize the strike, told the Guardian. “So what we want is a thank-you – gratitude from the company, giving us a good, equitable contract for increasing our wages, so we can survive out here in California because it’s very expensive here in this state.”
