Democrats threaten to skip next debate over labor dispute

All seven Democratic candidates who qualified for next week’s presidential debate in Los Angeles are threatening to skip it over a labor dispute at the university hosting the event.

The candidates said Friday that they won’t attend the Dec. 19 event due to a dispute between workers at Loyola Marymount University and food services company Sodexo.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the 2020 field’s progressive heavyweights, were among the first to say they would boycott the event.

They were soon joined by former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D), and businessmen Andrew Yang and Tom Steyer.

“The [Democratic National Committee] should find a solution that lives up to our party’s commitment to fight for working people,” Warren tweeted.

.@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 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

I won’t be crossing a picket line. We’ve got to stand together with @UniteHere11 for affordable health care and fair wages. A job is about more than just a paycheck. It’s about dignity. https://t.co/nn4tb5q8wt

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) December 13, 2019

I take the debate stage to stand up for workers’ rights, not to undermine them.

I stand in solidarity with the workers of @UNITEHERE11 at Loyola Marymount University and I will not cross their picket line.

— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) December 13, 2019

The debate had been moved to Loyola Marymount University from the University of California, Los Angeles due to a separate labor dispute.

The union representing the workers, Unite Here Local 11, had said in a statement earlier Friday that “the leading contenders for the Democratic nomination will be greeted with picket lines at their replacement venue.”

A Democratic National Committee (DNC) spokesperson told The Hill in a statement that it had learned of the issue Friday and was working to find a solution. 

“While LMU is not a party to the negotiations between Sodexo and Unite Here Local 11, Tom Perez would absolutely not cross a picket line and would never expect our candidates to either,” spokesperson Xochitl Hinojosa told The New York Times, referring to the DNC’s chairman.

“We are working with all stakeholders to find an acceptable resolution that meets their needs and is consistent with our values and will enable us to proceed as scheduled with next week’s debate,” she added.