Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and former Vice President Joe Biden may skip the next Democratic presidential debate over a labor dispute involving a food services company.
Loyola Marymount is set to host the sixth Democratic debate of the 2020 election cycle, which is being threatened by a labor dispute involving Sodexo, a food services company that provides meals for university students and employees. Unite Here Local 11 is the union representing over 150 Sodexo employees, according to The Huffington Post. (RELATED: DNC Drops Putrid Fundraising Numbers In Middle Of Debate)
“I stand with the workers of (Unite Here) on campus at Loyola Marymount University fighting Sodexo for a better contract,” Sanders tweeted Friday. “I will not be crossing their picket line.”
I stand with the workers of @UniteHere11 on campus at Loyola Marymount University fighting Sodexo for a better contract. I will not be crossing their picket line.
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) December 13, 2019
“The DNC should find a solution that lives up to our party’s commitment to fight for working people,” Warren tweeted Friday. “I will not cross the union’s picket line even if it means missing the debate.”
.@UniteHere11 is fighting for better wages and benefits—and I stand with them. The DNC should find a solution that lives up to our party’s commitment to fight for working people. I will not cross the union’s picket line even if it means missing the debate.
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) December 13, 2019
“I won’t be crossing a picket line,” Biden tweeted Friday. “A job is about more than just a paycheck. It’s about dignity.”
Long-shot Democratic presidential candidates, including former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro and businessman Andrew Yang also offered their support to striking workers, and suggested they too could boycott the debate. (RELATED: Oddsmaker Makes Trump Overwhelming 2020 Favorite After Democratic Debate)
“No candidate for the Democratic nomination should cross a picket line,” Castro tweeted Friday. “I stand with (Unite Here) and urge (Loyola Marymount) to live up to its Jesuit values by respecting the needs and desires of (Sodexo) workers that feed their great university.”
“I won’t cross the (Unite Here) picket line to attend next week’s debate,” Yang said. “We must live our values and there is nothing more core to the Democratic Party than the fight for working people.”
The next Democratic debate is scheduled to take place Thursday at 9 P.M. E.T., and will be hosted by Politico and PBS.