Sanders joins a picket line in Iowa

by Jordain Carney - 09/05/15 10:59 AM ET

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a long-time supporter of labor unions, joined workers on an Iowa picket line Friday.

Sanders, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, rallied outside of Penford Products in Cedar Rapids, where local union workers are trying negotiate a new contract, according to the Des Moines Register.

{mosads}”I want you to know being out on a picket line and standing with workers is something I have been doing for my entire life,” he said. “I did when I was mayor of the city of Burlington, did in Congress, did in the Senate. This is what I do.”

Chris Eby, the president of Bakers Confectioners Tobacco Grain Millers union local 100G, said the union hasn’t endorsed Sanders.

Sanders has made middle class and social issues a key theme of his presidential campaign. According to The Washington Post, he suggested during Friday’s event that the current negotiations reflected “corporate greed.”

“That’s what we’re seeing here,” he added. “We have got to stand together and tell this company that greed is not acceptable.”

According to The Post, the rally was the first time Sanders has joined a picket line as a presidential candidate. The event comes as Sanders is making a three-day swing through Iowa, the first state in the nation to vote in the presidential nomination process.

Sanders’ campaign also announced earlier this month that it is boosting its staff in Iowa, including adding a press secretary for the state.

Tags Bernie Sanders