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Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) both said Friday that they would not cross the picket line as workers at Marymount Loyola University go on strike to demand a fair collective bargaining agreement--even if it means missing next week's Democratic presidential debate at the university. (Photo: Jeff Kowalsky/AFP/Getty Images, Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
Warren and Sanders Lead 2020 Candidates in Backing Workers Demanding Fair Wages, Vowing Not to Cross Picket Line for Debate
After the progressive senators announced they would not be crossing the picket line, the rest of the Democratic field followed.
Dec 12, 2019
As the hospitality workers' union Unite Here Local 11 said that next week's Democratic presidential debate could be threatened by stalled contract negotiations for workers at Loyola Marymount University, which is hosting the debate, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders led the Democratic field in announcing they would be on the side of the workers if a deal is not reached in the coming days.
Warren tweeted early Friday afternoon that she would "not cross the union's picket line even if it means missing the debate," and Sanders tweeted a similar message shortly after, with a CBS reporter then confirming Sanders was also willing to miss the debate next Thursday in order to support university workers.
\u201c.@UniteHere11 is fighting for better wages and benefits\u2014and 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.\u201d— Elizabeth Warren (@Elizabeth Warren) 1576258663
\u201cI 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.\u201d— Bernie Sanders (@Bernie Sanders) 1576260689
After Warren and Sanders announced their support, other presidential candidates--including businessman Andrew Yang, former Vice President Joe Biden, and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg--also said they would not be crossing the picket line next Thursday.
The debate was originally set to take place at UCLA but was moved to Loyola Marymount (LMU), which is also located in Los Angeles, after unions boycotted the event due to another labor dispute.
Now, Unite Here Local 11 said Friday, "the leading contenders for the Democratic nomination will be greeted with picket lines at their replacement venue."
"We had hoped that workers would have a contract with wages and affordable health insurance before the debate next week," said union co-president Susan Minato. "Instead, workers will be picketing when the candidates come to campus."
At LMU, the union represents 150 dishwashers, cooks, cashiers, and servers who are subcontractors employed by the global company Sodexo. The union has been in negotiations with Sodexo since March, demanding higher hourly wages than the $14.40 the workers currently earn, in the 12th most expensive city in the United States.
After Warren and Sanders led the way in expressing support for the LMU workers, labor leaders and supporters praised the senators for "clearly defining which side" they are on.
\u201cThe way to get results is to define the problem, state clearly what you\u2019re willing to do to rectify it, and injecting urgency. Thanks @ewarren for clearly defining which side you\u2019re on and what you\u2019re willing to do alongside @UNITEHERE11 to fight for what\u2019s right! Good plan.\u270a\u201d— Sara Nelson (@Sara Nelson) 1576261010
\u201cWe \ud83d\udc4f don\u2019t \ud83d\udc4f cross \ud83d\udc4f picket lines \ud83d\udc4f. #1u\n\nProps to @BernieSanders and @ewarren.\u201d— People for Bernie (@People for Bernie) 1576263760
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As the hospitality workers' union Unite Here Local 11 said that next week's Democratic presidential debate could be threatened by stalled contract negotiations for workers at Loyola Marymount University, which is hosting the debate, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders led the Democratic field in announcing they would be on the side of the workers if a deal is not reached in the coming days.
Warren tweeted early Friday afternoon that she would "not cross the union's picket line even if it means missing the debate," and Sanders tweeted a similar message shortly after, with a CBS reporter then confirming Sanders was also willing to miss the debate next Thursday in order to support university workers.
\u201c.@UniteHere11 is fighting for better wages and benefits\u2014and 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.\u201d— Elizabeth Warren (@Elizabeth Warren) 1576258663
\u201cI 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.\u201d— Bernie Sanders (@Bernie Sanders) 1576260689
After Warren and Sanders announced their support, other presidential candidates--including businessman Andrew Yang, former Vice President Joe Biden, and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg--also said they would not be crossing the picket line next Thursday.
The debate was originally set to take place at UCLA but was moved to Loyola Marymount (LMU), which is also located in Los Angeles, after unions boycotted the event due to another labor dispute.
Now, Unite Here Local 11 said Friday, "the leading contenders for the Democratic nomination will be greeted with picket lines at their replacement venue."
"We had hoped that workers would have a contract with wages and affordable health insurance before the debate next week," said union co-president Susan Minato. "Instead, workers will be picketing when the candidates come to campus."
At LMU, the union represents 150 dishwashers, cooks, cashiers, and servers who are subcontractors employed by the global company Sodexo. The union has been in negotiations with Sodexo since March, demanding higher hourly wages than the $14.40 the workers currently earn, in the 12th most expensive city in the United States.
After Warren and Sanders led the way in expressing support for the LMU workers, labor leaders and supporters praised the senators for "clearly defining which side" they are on.
\u201cThe way to get results is to define the problem, state clearly what you\u2019re willing to do to rectify it, and injecting urgency. Thanks @ewarren for clearly defining which side you\u2019re on and what you\u2019re willing to do alongside @UNITEHERE11 to fight for what\u2019s right! Good plan.\u270a\u201d— Sara Nelson (@Sara Nelson) 1576261010
\u201cWe \ud83d\udc4f don\u2019t \ud83d\udc4f cross \ud83d\udc4f picket lines \ud83d\udc4f. #1u\n\nProps to @BernieSanders and @ewarren.\u201d— People for Bernie (@People for Bernie) 1576263760
As the hospitality workers' union Unite Here Local 11 said that next week's Democratic presidential debate could be threatened by stalled contract negotiations for workers at Loyola Marymount University, which is hosting the debate, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders led the Democratic field in announcing they would be on the side of the workers if a deal is not reached in the coming days.
Warren tweeted early Friday afternoon that she would "not cross the union's picket line even if it means missing the debate," and Sanders tweeted a similar message shortly after, with a CBS reporter then confirming Sanders was also willing to miss the debate next Thursday in order to support university workers.
\u201c.@UniteHere11 is fighting for better wages and benefits\u2014and 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.\u201d— Elizabeth Warren (@Elizabeth Warren) 1576258663
\u201cI 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.\u201d— Bernie Sanders (@Bernie Sanders) 1576260689
After Warren and Sanders announced their support, other presidential candidates--including businessman Andrew Yang, former Vice President Joe Biden, and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg--also said they would not be crossing the picket line next Thursday.
The debate was originally set to take place at UCLA but was moved to Loyola Marymount (LMU), which is also located in Los Angeles, after unions boycotted the event due to another labor dispute.
Now, Unite Here Local 11 said Friday, "the leading contenders for the Democratic nomination will be greeted with picket lines at their replacement venue."
"We had hoped that workers would have a contract with wages and affordable health insurance before the debate next week," said union co-president Susan Minato. "Instead, workers will be picketing when the candidates come to campus."
At LMU, the union represents 150 dishwashers, cooks, cashiers, and servers who are subcontractors employed by the global company Sodexo. The union has been in negotiations with Sodexo since March, demanding higher hourly wages than the $14.40 the workers currently earn, in the 12th most expensive city in the United States.
After Warren and Sanders led the way in expressing support for the LMU workers, labor leaders and supporters praised the senators for "clearly defining which side" they are on.
\u201cThe way to get results is to define the problem, state clearly what you\u2019re willing to do to rectify it, and injecting urgency. Thanks @ewarren for clearly defining which side you\u2019re on and what you\u2019re willing to do alongside @UNITEHERE11 to fight for what\u2019s right! Good plan.\u270a\u201d— Sara Nelson (@Sara Nelson) 1576261010
\u201cWe \ud83d\udc4f don\u2019t \ud83d\udc4f cross \ud83d\udc4f picket lines \ud83d\udc4f. #1u\n\nProps to @BernieSanders and @ewarren.\u201d— People for Bernie (@People for Bernie) 1576263760
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Texas Progressives Rally Against 'Trump Takeover' in Austin
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Progressives rallied across the country on Saturday to protest against US President Donald Trump's attempts to get Republican-run state legislatures to redraw their maps to benefit GOP candidates in the 2026 midterm elections.
The anchor rally for the nationwide "Fight the Trump Takeover" protests was held in Austin, Texas, where Republicans in the state are poised to become the first in the nation to redraw their maps at the president's behest.
Progressives in the Lone Star State capital rallied against Trump and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for breaking with historical precedent by carrying out congressional redistricting in the middle of the decade. Independent experts have estimated that the Texas gerrymandering alone could yield the GOP five additional seats in the US House of Representatives.
Speaking before a boisterous crowd of thousands of people, Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) charged that the Texas GOP was drawing up "districts set up to elect a Trump minion" in next year's midterms. However, Doggett also said that progressives should still try to compete in these districts, whose residents voted for Trump in the 2024 election but who also have histories of supporting Democratic candidates.
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Leonard Aguilar, the secretary-treasurer of Texas AFL-CIO, attacked Abbott for doing the president's bidding even as people in central Texas are still struggling in the aftermath of the deadly floods last month that killed at least 136 people.
"It's time for Gov. Abbott to cut the bullshit," he said. "We need help now but he's working at the behest of the president, on behalf of Trump... He's letting Trump take over Texas!"
Aguilar also speculated that Trump is fixated on having Texas redraw its maps because he "knows he's in trouble and he wants to change the rules midstream."
Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) went through a litany of grievances against Trump and the Republican Party, ranging from the Texas redistricting plan, to hardline immigration policies, to the massive GOP budget package passed last month that is projected to kick 17 million Americans off of Medicaid.
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Casar went on to accuse Trump and Republicans or "trying to pull off the most corrupt bargain I've ever seen," and then added that "as they try to kick us off our healthcare, as they try to rig this election, we're not going to let them!"
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A federal judge appointed in 2019 by US President Donald Trump has dismissed a lawsuit filed against pro-Palestinian organizations that alleged they were fronts for the terrorist organization Hamas.
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Writing on his Truth Social page, the president took a victory lap over the summit despite coming home completely empty-handed when he flew back from Alaska on Friday night.
"A great and very successful day in Alaska!" Trump began. "The meeting with President Vladimir Putin of Russia went very well, as did a late night phone call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, and various European Leaders, including the highly respected Secretary General of NATO."
Trump then pivoted to saying that he was fine with not obtaining a cease-fire agreement, even though he said just days before that he'd impose "severe consequences" on Russia if it did not agree to one.
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"Putin got one hell of a photo op out of Trump, and still more time on the clock to prosecute his war against the 'brotherly' Ukrainian people, as he had the chutzpah to call them during his remarks in Alaska," she wrote. "The most enduring images from Anchorage, it seems, will be its grotesque displays of bonhomie between the dictator and his longtime American admirer."
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