Democratic presidential debate to take place after labor deal announced
The sixth Democratic presidential debate, scheduled 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.