Democratic Debate

All seven Democratic candidates who have qualified for the PBS NewsHour/POLITICO Debate at Loyola Marymount University next week threatened on Friday to skip the event, asserting they would not cross the picket line of campus workers locked in a labor dispute.

UNITE HERE Local 11, a union representing 150 cashiers, cooks, dishwashers and servers at the university, said in a statement that it had not yet reached a resolution in negotiations for a collective bargaining agreement with Sodexo — a global services company that employs the workers and is subcontracted by the university to handle food service operations.

Local 11 began talks with Sodexo in March, but said the company last week canceled scheduled contract negotiations after workers and students began picketing on campus in November.

"We had hoped that workers would have a contract with wages and affordable health insurance before the debate next week," Susan Minato, co-President of Local 11, said in the statement. "Instead, workers will be picketing when the candidates come to campus."

The Democratic National Committee said in a statement that it was working with all parties involved to find "an acceptable resolution" that will allow the debate to go forward.

Source: Democratic candidates threaten to skip debate amid labor fight - POLITICO