The US’s largest federation of labor unions is leading a coalition demanding Fifa address concerns around human and labor rights at the 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico, and commit to minimum standards on these issues.
The 2022 tournament in Qatar, to be held later this year, has already been marred in egregious human rights and labor violations, including the deaths of thousands of migrant workers who were brought into the country to build stadiums and infrastructure for the event; evidence of forced labor, reports of withheld wages; exorbitant recruitment fees charged to workers; and paltry pay.
In December, the AFL-CIO, a federation of 57 labor unions in the US, and several other labor and human rights groups wrote a letter to Fifa demanding minimum labor standards for planning and execution of the 2026 World Cup, and that Fifa meet with the groups to address commitments Fifa should make to meet human rights guarantees.
“Without such guarantees, Fifa essentially stands to profit from low wages, unsafe working conditions, racial discrimination in hiring and promotion, gentrification, and other forms of skewed development that make low-income communities dread the arrival of a mega-sporting event,” the letter wrote.
Fifa wrote back in January, dismissing concerns about the governing body’s human rights policies and implementation of them.
“It was really just a superficial response. There were no initial commitments, no serious commitment to engaging us,” said Cathy Feingold, director of the international department at the AFL-CIO.
Feingold explained now is the time multi-million dollar deals are made ahead of the 2026 tournament, in terms of major tax breaks and contract bids, and that the coalition is pushing for minimum labor standards to be included in these deals, such as local hiring and diversity hiring directives; use of unionized labor discrimination protections for workers; healthcare access while workers are working events; and minimum wage standards for the event that generates billions of dollars in revenue and profits.
In their response, the AFL-CIO and other groups set a deadline of 15 March for Fifa to schedule a meeting with the groups to discuss the issues before host cities for 2026 are selected.
Fifa did not respond until shortly after they were asked to comment on this story, on 31 March. The AFL-CIO-led coalition characterized the response as offering the bare minimum and avoiding the coalition’s demands in regards to ensuring high level Fifa officials with the authority to implement labor and human rights standards attend and the issues to be discussed.
“The real issue here is to ensure that when Fifa comes to town, and we’re still waiting to hear what cities in the US will host workers will have a voice in the agreement, workers will be part of the conversation about what happens with those games,” Feingold added.
In Orlando, one of 17 US cities that submitted bids to host gamesp, Eric Clinton, the president of Unite Here Local 362, a labor union which represents Disney workers and food service workers around the Orlando area, criticized the lack of input or inclusion of local labor unions in the city’s bid.
“Not only did the Orlando committee say that they did include us, they insulted us and said that labor unions in Central Florida are not relevant, which is just simply not true. we represent 70,000 people here,” Clinton told the Guardian.
He noted at the behest of Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer, the committee finally met with local labor leaders, but after the bid was submitted.
“It’s too little too late,” Clinton said. “It’s an honor to be awarded the game and it would be an economic study stimulus, it causes a lot of money to come into the community. But the question I have, on behalf of my members, is who is benefiting from it? Is it workers who will be cleaning the stands and restrooms in the stadiums, making sure places are secure and safe, or running audio and visual?
“Or is it Fifa and their cronies who have done a disservice to working people by leaving them on the sidelines?”
A spokesperson for Fifa said the host city selection process has a human rights component designed to ensure candidate cities engage with local stakeholders.
They said: “Fifa remains steadfast in its commitment to protect and promote human rights across football, and to use the popularity of the sport to help foster still wider positive social change around the world.
“We are confident that the selection process and the city plans will provide a robust foundation for the collaboration between the host city teams and relevant rights-holder groups in the preparation and hosting of the World Cup in 2026.
“Fifa has been in contact with AFL-CIO during the process and the independent evaluators of the candidate host city reports take into account the written feedback shared by AFL-CIO and others. Furthermore, Fifa is in touch with AFL-CIO and other national level stakeholders to schedule further exchanges in the coming weeks.”
