The 7 Democratic candidates say they will not cross the picket of striking workers at Loyola Marymount University

Democratic candidates threaten to skip debate in Los Angeles over labor dispute

The second Democratic Debate in Detroit.

Photo:
BRING SMIALOWSKI / AFP / Getty Images

In the middle of a labor dispute at the headquarters of the Democratic presidential debate next week, the seven Democratic candidates who came to qualify said they support the unions and threaten not to participate in the event, NPR reports.

Candidates are scheduled to meet for the Democratic presidential primary debate on the campus of the Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles on December 19.

The workers represented by Unite Here Local 11 They have been picketing since November.

The union representatives say that Sodexo, the subcontractor that employs the more than 150 university workers in the food service abruptly canceled the scheduled negotiations. Workers will picket Thursday, out of the debate.

The Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, One of the seven candidates who will appear on stage on Thursday was the first to point out that she would not cross the picket line.

“. @ UNITEHERE11 is fighting for better wages and benefits, and I am with them. The DNC must find a solution that fulfills our party's commitment to fight for working people. I won't cross the union picket line, even if that means missing the debate, ”Warren tweeted on Friday.

Bernie Sanders followed shortly after, tweeting that "he won't cross his picket line" until the union reaches an agreement with Sodexo.

Former vice president Joe biden He also says he will not cross a picket line, and added on Twitter that "we have to join … for affordable medical care and fair wages."

Mayor Pete Buttigieg He also tweeted that “he will not cross the picket line. I take the stage of debate to defend the rights of workers, not to undermine them, ”he wrote.

And a spokeswoman for the senator Amy Klobuchar She tweeted that the candidate told union leaders in Miami on Friday that she would not participate in the debate without a resolution of the labor dispute.

The candidate Andrew Yang also promised too do not cross the picket line to participate in the debate. "(T) here there is nothing more important for the Democratic Party than the struggle for workers," Yang wrote on Twitter.

The billionaire and environmental activist Tom steyer He also said he will not cross the picket line, but believes that the National Democratic Committee will find a solution before Thursday's debate.

The decision to participate in the debate while the workers will be on the picket, it would be a challenge for any Democratic candidate and almost certainly it would antagonize organized workers, a central support for the Democrats.

The DNC communication director, Xóchitl HinojosaHe said in a statement that the committee and the university had learned about the issue on Friday and They are working to find a solution.

Unite Here is the national umbrella organization for the powerful Culinary Union in Nevada.

Biden, Warren and Sanders made stops in Las Vegas this week to speak with Unite Here union members. The large amount of time they spent with the group is a testament to their political influence. The culinary union is possibly the most powerful labor union in Nevada, home of approximately 60,000 members; and support from the group could be key to winning the state of Nevada in early voting.

For the second time the venue of the debate is marked by a labor dispute

This is the second time in this cycle that Democratic presidential candidates find their place of debate stirred by a labor dispute. The December debate was originally scheduled to take place at UCLA.

It was relocated because the US Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees 3299 I had been asking for a boycott of oratory commitments on the University of California campuses on "ongoing labor disputes over outsourcing, income inequality and alleged illegal labor processes".


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