By Caitlin Conant

The Democratic National Committee has asked its media partners to seek an alternative venue for the December Democratic presidential debate amid an ongoing labor dispute between the University of California and the AFSCME Local 3299.

In October, the DNC announced PBS NewsHour and Politico would host the 6th debate on December 19th at UCLA. But on Tuesday, the AFSCME Local 3299 sent letters to six presidential campaigns, including that of Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg, notifying them of an ongoing speakers’ boycott because of the University of California’s “continued role in contributing to economic and racial inequalities at the UC and across the State of California.” The AFSCME Local 3299 accuses UC of refusing to negotiate a fair contract and outsourcing jobs to private companies that pay less, and asked candidates to refuse to attend or speak at any UC events until issues were settled.

On Wednesday, the DNC confirmed with CBS News political unit associate producer Sarah Ewall-Wice that they asked partners to find another venue. The story was first reported by Huffington Post. In response to the news, the AFSCME Local 3299 released a statement saying, “We applaud the decision by the DNC to stand with University of California workers in their fight for fair treatment from California’s 3rd largest employer. And we are grateful to the candidates and other leaders who have stood with us in solidarity on our picket lines.

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[Source]: CBS News