Unions Make the Middle Class. Without Unions, the Middle Class Withers.

I mean, if they have to pay just as much in right to work states as in other states there is not so much incentive to locate businesses in right to work over other places.

Progressive presidential candidates Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) suggested on Friday that they may not participate in Thursday's Democratic primary debate in Los Angeles amid a labor dispute.

"[UNITE HERE Local 11] is fighting for better wages and benefits - and I stand with them," Warren said in a tweet. "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."

Sanders also voiced his support for the workers in a tweet.

"I stand with the workers of [UNITE HERE Local 11] on campus at Loyola Marymount University fighting Sodexo for a better contract," the senator wrote. "I will not be crossing their picket line."

The UNITE HERE Local 11 labor union has asked candidates not to cross the picket line at the site of next week's debate at Loyola Marymount University amid the dispute, which erupted after Sodexo canceled contract negotiations with the union for a collective bargaining agreement.

The university has a contract with Sodexo for foodservice operations.

Students and workers began calling for a fair agreement last November, taking part in picket lines.

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

The union represents 150 cooks, dishwashers, cashiers and servers associated with the university.

The Hill has reached out to the Democratic National Committee for comment.

The DNC originally moved the debate to LMU due to a labor dispute at the University of California in Los Angeles.

Next week's primary debate is the final forum of the year. Seven candidates qualified for the debate.

All of the Democratic presidential candidates who have qualified for next week’s primary debate are threatening to boycott it in response to a labor dispute between a food service company and workers at Loyola Marymount University, which is hosting the event.

Members of Unite Here Local 11, a union representing food service employees at Loyola Marymount, in Los Angeles, are in negotiations with the university’s food service provider, Sodexo. The union said in a statement on Friday that it had been unable to reach an agreement.

“We had hoped that workers would have a contract with wages and affordable health insurance before the debate next week,” the statement said. “Instead, workers will be picketing when the candidates come to campus.”

It is not unusual for unions to make such threats as a negotiating tactic with the intention of reaching a deal before the event.

But by Friday afternoon, all seven candidates who are set to appear on the debate stage next Thursday — Joseph R. Biden Jr., Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren and Andrew Yang — had pledged not to cross a picket line, raising the prospect of a boycott.

“The DNC should find a solution that lives up to our party’s commitment to fight for working people,” Ms. Warren, who was the first candidate to make the pledge, tweeted. “I will not cross the union’s picket line even if it means missing the debate.”

The Democratic National Committee said it was considering how to proceed.

“While L.M.U. 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,” Xochitl Hinojosa, a spokeswoman for the committee, said in a statement, referring to the committee 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.”

Loyola Marymount said that it was not a party to the dispute, but that it had “asked Sodexo to meet with Local 11 next week to advance negotiations and solutions.”

“L.M.U. is proud to host the D.N.C. presidential debate and is committed to ensuring that the university is a rewarding place to learn, live and work,” it said.

A spokesman for Sodexo said the company was “100 percent committed to reaching an agreement, and any statement that we have left the bargaining table is not accurate.”

The D.N.C. chose Loyola Marymount as a debate site last month under pressure from organized labor. It moved the event from the original location, the University of California, Los Angeles, because of an ongoing labor dispute there.

This is not the first time a strike or potential strike has disrupted debate plans. In 2007, the Democratic National Committee canceled a debate after the top three presidential candidates at the time said they would not cross a Writers Guild of America picket line outside the CBS studios where the debate was to be held.

And in 2015, the D.N.C. removed the New Hampshire television station WMUR as a debate sponsor because a labor dispute at the station could have led to a picket line.

CHICAGO (CBS) — Former Vice President and current Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden called attention to the Chicago teachers’ strike at an event for Teacher Union Day in New York on Sunday.

Biden spoke Sunday at an event organized by the United Federation of Teachers, the union representing New York City teachers. The event was held at the New York Hilton on Sixth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.

In his address, Biden spoke about teachers’ strikes and called them courageous, and he specifically brought up the strike by members of the Chicago Teachers’ Union that began this past Thursday.

“It was pretty novel 60 years ago. It took some courage to decide to go on strike; walk out. We celebrate the bravery of those teachers today and the school professionals that went with them,” Biden said. “But we also know that no educator wants to go on strike. It’s the last damn thing you want to do. The teachers’ strike in Chicago right now, you know every one of them would much rather be in the classroom, for real. For real – with their kids.”

Teachers walked out on Thursday after locking horns with the Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the Chicago Public Schools on several issues – notably including staffing and class sizes.

CTU leaders said the city has made commitments to reducing class sizes and increasing staffing, but the union wants to include language to enforce those provisions.

Mayor Lightfoot said Saturday that it is unlikely a deal will get done in time to resume classes on Monday.

In his address in New York, Biden also said he would take on the National Rifle Association and implied a link between the gun-rights organization and school shootings. He said he would “take on the NRA so we don’t have kids going to school learn how to duck and cover.”

Biden further said the next U.S. Secretary of Education should be someone with teaching experience. Current Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is a former chair of the Michigan Republican Party and of the Windquest Group investment and management firm, who is known for supporting charter schools, school choice, and vouchers.

“Four years of Betsy DeVos is plenty, it’s enough. It’s enough,” Biden said. “And I’ve been saying this and I mean it, we’re going to make sure the next Secretary of Education is a teacher, someone who’s taught in a classroom.”

Keeping in mind the fact the democrats haven't done anything to help unions since the 1970s.

And the republicans have actively worked to destroy them.

Hows about just sending thanks to all, regardless of political affiliation.

The sixth Democratic presidential debate, set for Thursday, will take place as scheduled, after every candidate had threatened not to attend out of solidarity with union protesters.

The labor dispute between employees of Loyola Marymount University, the host of the debate, and food service giant Sodexo could have upended the debate. But Sodexo announced on Tuesday that they reached a tentative contract agreement.

The food service union Unite Here Local 11 sought better wages and benefits, and said it would picket on the night of the debate if contract negotiations were not resolved before then. The union represents 150 food service workers on campus — cooks, dishwashers, cashiers and servers.

The Democratic National Committee and its chairman, Tom Perez, stepped in to help with the negotiations. The agreement reached, according to a statement by Unite Here, will give workers a 25% compensation increase, cut their health care costs by 50% and increase their job security.