Warren, Sanders Get Nod From Restaurant Workers Union Local

(Bloomberg) -- When a California union local was fighting over a contract at Loyola Marymount University, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders threatened to skip a debate there.

Now the Unite Here Local 11 has returned the favor, with a joint endorsement of the two presidential hopefuls.

“I’m deeply grateful for @UniteHere11’s endorsement,” Warren tweeted. “They’re on the front lines of the fights for better wages, benefits, and dignity on the job -- including when they won their historic contract with Sodexo. I’m proudly fighting by their side.”

Negotiations between the union and the food services company Sodexo SA had stalled at the time of the debate.

Warren was the first presidential candidate to say she wouldn’t cross a picket line for the debate in mid-December. Sanders followed a half hour later. By the end of the day, all seven qualifying candidates had joined them, and the debate was moved to a different location.

With many national unions holding back on endorsements this cycle, the backing of larger locals in key states has become more important.

This post is part of  Campaign Update, our live coverage from the 2020 campaign trail.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, John HarneyMax Berley

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