Messi, Miami switch LA hotel due to worker strike

Inter Miami have changed plans and will no longer stay this weekend at a Santa Monica hotel where workers recently went on strike, a union source told Reuters on Friday.

Inter Miami and star forward Lionel Messi were scheduled to check into the beachside Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows on Friday ahead of Sunday’s MLS match at LAFC but heeded calls from Unite Here Local 11 to stay away, said union spokesperson Maria Hernandez.

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Housekeepers, cooks, bellmen and servers at the establishment joined thousands of hotel workers across the region on the picket lines, where they are demanding higher pay to meet rising housing costs.

“Thank you to the great Lionel Messi and his team mates for agreeing to move from the hotel and stand in solidarity with striking workers!” the union said in a statement.

The union representing Major League Soccer players (MLSPA)also praised the decision.

“The MLSPA is proud to stand with the striking workers at the Fairmont Miramar and other LA area hotels, and we applaud the decision by MLS and Inter Miami to change hotels this weekend,” the MLS Players Association said in a statement.

“We urge all of the hotels to reach fair contracts with their workers ASAP.”

A Fairmont Miramar spokesperson declined to comment.

An MLS spokesperson said the league does not monitor which hotels teams stay at when traveling. Inter Miami did not respond to a request for comment.

Argentina‘s World Cup-winning captain Messi, widely considered one of the greatest players of all time, has been a huge attraction since joining MLS in July.