|
United Food and Commercial Workers Local 400 will represent the
campaign workers as Sanders, an independent U.S. senator from
Vermont, seeks the 2020 Democratic nomination.
Sanders, a progressive who is a staunch supporter of unions,
said on Twitter he was "proud that our campaign is the first
presidential campaign to unionize."
Mark Federici, president of Local 400, said in a statement he
hoped "this breakthrough serves as a model for other
presidential campaigns, as well as party committees and
candidates for other offices."
Sanders, 77, announced his candidacy in February and will
compete in a crowded field of more than a dozen Democratic
challengers seeking the nomination to face the likely Republican
candidate - President Donald Trump - in the 2020 election.
Sanders, who narrowly lost the 2016 Democratic nomination to
Hillary Clinton, has been among the leaders in early opinion
polls of prospective 2020 Democratic candidates.
In January, Sanders apologized to women campaign workers who
said they had been harassed or mistreated by male campaign
staffers during his 2016 White House bid.
A majority of Sanders' campaign workers signed a union card by
Friday, triggering the union's recognition, the union said. All
campaign employees below the rank of deputy director will be
represented by the union, which said the number could grow to
more than 1,000 members.
The next step is for the campaign and the union to begin
negotiations over a collective bargaining agreement, the union
said.
(Reporting by Eric Beech; editing by Diane Craft)
[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
