Democratic Presidential Debate To Go Forward At Loyola Marymount After Union Deal Reached
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – The Democratic presidential primary debate will go ahead as planned Thursday at Loyola Marymount University after a union dispute among food service workers at the college was resolved Monday night.
The debate had been at risk of being canceled or moved to a different location after all the candidates said they would not cross picket lines.
The food service workers' union, Unite Here Local 11, reached a labor deal with global services company Sodexo, the company which contracts with the university. The deal was brokered with the help of the Democratic National Committee.
"Sodexo at Loyola Marymount University and their employees negotiated through Monday evening to secure a tentative contract agreement," Local 11 said in a statement. "The Democratic National Committee and (DNC Chairman) Tom Perez worked hard to help bring the situation to a positive resolution."
The new contract for about 150 cooks, dishwashers, cashiers, and servers includes a 25 percent bump in pay, Local 11 said. A DNC news conference was held Tuesday afternoon at United 11 headquarters with Sen. Elizabeth Warren in attendance.
Warren, who got the ball rolling on a potential boycott, congratulated the parties on ending the standoff.
"Working families are faced with two options," she said. "They can back down, or they can roll up their sleeves and get in the fight. The workers of Unite Here get in the fight, and they win."
Seven candidates are slated to take part in Thursday's debate: Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Andrew Yang and Tom Steyer.
The debate had been originally scheduled to take place at UCLA, but a labor dispute there forced the DNC last month to move it to Loyola Marymount's Gersten Pavilion.
It wasn't until Dec. 13 that news broke of a second labor dispute at Loyola Marymount, prompting all the candidates to declare their solidarity with Local 11 and threatening to force the DNC to move the debate yet again.
The debate, scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Pacific time, will be hosted by PBS NewsHour and Politico, and it will air live on PBS and be live-streamed across PBS NewsHour digital platforms and on Politico's digital and social platforms.
