As the World Cup kicks off, labor advocates and scholars warn that the workers making the tournament possible could face serious heat-related risks.
“It’s going to be extremely hot, and you just cannot leave people unprotected or you’re going to deal with a lot of injuries,” said Jonathan Alingu, co-executive director of Central Florida Jobs With Justice, which has been calling for worker protections at the Miami games. “Or, God forbid, something even worse.”
The Fifa tournament is being played across 16 host cities, including 11 in the US. That includes southern cities such as Miami, Houston, Dallas and Atlanta, where temperatures during games could top 85F or even 90F.
The matches come as forecasts show much of the US facing above-normal temperatures. Since the World Cup was last held in North America, the planet has warmed by more than 1F.
Heat is the deadliest form of extreme weather. Workers at previous World Cups have suffered and even died in sweltering heat, and experts warn this year’s tournament could be the hottest since the first in 1930.
Thousands of World Cup workers are expected to labor in conditions exceeding recommended heat-exposure limits, putting them at risk of heat exhaustion and other illnesses, according to a study published this week.
“If you think about the delivery people, the law enforcement, firefighters, EMTs, people selling concessions or collecting tickets, a whole network of people are going to face heat-related hazards,” said Andrew Grundstein, a geographer and climatologist at the University of Georgia who led the study.
Researchers assessed historical weather conditions and wet-bulb globe temperatures, a measure of heat stress accounting for temperature, humidity and wind speed. Southern host cities pose the greatest risks, though the authors say even cooler locations should prepare for unusually high temperatures.
Risk also depends on working conditions, the study says. Stadiums without air conditioning – including venues in Miami, New York, Philadelphia and Kansas City – may be more dangerous.
Those carrying concessions or other heavy loads, performing physical labor such as construction or field maintenance, or wearing extra fabric such as mascot costumes may be more vulnerable to heat illness and injury, the study says. Staff who spend long periods in direct sunlight, including security personnel, may face elevated risks as well.
Protections
Measures such as mandated breaks and access to water and shade can help protect workers from scorching temperatures, said Jordan Barab, former deputy assistant secretary of labor at the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha).
“We’ve known for decades, if not centuries, how to protect workers against heat-related illness and death,” he said. “It’s not that hard, it’s not that expensive, but there are far too many employers who are still neglecting those precautions, and far too many workers who are getting sick and dying.”
Fifa does not directly control employment conditions, which are governed by host countries, local organizers, stadium authorities and contractors. But it can promote safety through host-city agreements, venue-operating requirements and contractor standards, said Margaret Morrissey-Basler, a senior adviser of occupational safety at the University of Connecticut’s Korey Stringer Institute who co-authored the recent study.
“It is also important for city governments and the organizations themselves to ensure these protections are in place,” said Morrissey-Basler, who is also a professor at Providence College.
In an emailed statement, Fifa said it is “committed to protecting the health and safety of all players, referees, fans, volunteers and staff”.
“Climate-related risks are assessed as part of overall tournament planning and managed in close coordination with the host cities, stadium authorities and national agencies,” a spokesperson said.
To avoid the worst heat, Fifa scheduled many matches for late afternoon and evening. Venues will also deploy cooling measures including shaded areas, misting systems and expanded water distribution, the spokesperson said.
Fifa will also implement work-rest schedules, station trained medical personnel at every match, monitor weather conditions in real time and rely on a taskforce of heat experts, the spokesperson added.
How effective these protections are will depend on implementation, worker advocates say.
“I hope, we hope, that they are able to follow through on all that,” said Luisangel Rodriguez, spokesperson for SEIU Local 1, which represents some staff at the Kansas City stadium hosting World Cup matches. “Let’s see.”
Risks remain
Labor activists fear Fifa’s efforts won’t eliminate heat-related risks. For instance, Yareliz Mendez-Zamora, an immigrant rights organizer in Miami, said even evening games could still leave workers exposed to extreme heat.
“Even if the games start after 6pm or after 7pm, here in Miami it can still be dangerously hot during that time,” said Mendez-Zamora, who serves as policy coordinator for the American Friends Service Committee.
Alingu noted that stadium workers often begin shifts hours before kick-off, potentially during the hottest part of the day. Fifa did not respond to a question about shift start times.
Some World Cup workers are unionized and may have stronger heat protections, Grundstein said. In Kansas City, for instance, SEIU Local 1 has secured guaranteed access to water, cooling towels and fans during temperature spikes at the stadium through labor-management meetings with the stadium, said Rodriguez, the union spokesperson, though he said the protections are “never enough when it gets hot”.
But many World Cup games will rely heavily on temporary contract workers who may not be acclimated to local heat, said Grundstein of the University of Georgia.
“When you live in a hot area, your body adjusts to it. You learn to sweat more efficiently, the body’s able to regulate its temperature better,” he said. “But when people just move here from a cooler area, your body hasn’t adjusted yet … which can make you more vulnerable.”
Temporary workers may also be less likely to speak up about unsafe conditions, Alingu said. He is part of a coalition pushing for heat-safety training, worker support, and cooling hubs at Miami’s World Cup matches and fan festival viewing events, where workers can access shade, water and grievance resources.
Officials from Miami-Dade county, the committee overseeing the fan festival and Fifa itself have not responded to those requests, he said. They did not respond to questions from the Guardian about the demands.
Political conditions may put a damper on efforts to protect World Cup workers from heat. Florida and Texas – both of which will host matches – have enacted state laws that explicitly ban local municipalities from mandating heat protections for workers.
“We have tried to pass ordinances that would have guaranteed protections to workers including at the World Cup, but unfortunately this state has preempted a lot of that,” said Mendez-Zamora. “That gives you some idea of how hard it can be to make sure good working conditions are in place.”
Only seven states have enforceable occupational heat safety standards, and just two of them – California and Washington – are hosting World Cup matches.
“Since there aren’t any federal regulations protecting workers against heat, in states without specific protections, workers are basically at the whim of their employers,” said Barab.
Though Osha renewed a program meant to emphasize worker heat protections this year, under Trump, the agency weakened its enforcement measures. And without a robust staff or true federal regulations, there is not much the agency can do to require employers to protect workers from heat, said Barab.
In the absence of strong protections, labor rights groups say they will continually monitor working conditions throughout the World Cup.
“We’re now in a mode of needing to observe and report what’s happening,” said Alingu. “We can’t be oblivious to the unsafe conditions and we can’t just assume things are going to be fine … not in this kind of weather.”