Sanders to join teachers, auto workers striking in Midwest

White House hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will join striking teachers and auto workers in the Midwest next week as the Democratic presidential candidate seeks to gin up support for his campaign among working-class voters.

Sanders, who has long cast himself as an ally of unions and other labor groups, will join teachers striking in Chicago on Tuesday and then travel to Detroit to picket with auto workers with the United Auto Workers union striking against General Motors.

{mosads}“Throughout the campaign, Sanders has stood on multiple picket lines with workers and has used his email and text lists to urge his supporters to stand with striking workers across the country. In August, he released his Workplace Democracy Plan, which would double union membership during his term and give workers unprecedented protections in the workplace,” his campaign said in a statement. 

The move comes as Sanders works to shore up his support among working-class voters as he tries to face down a rising challenge from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) for the primary field’s progressive mantle.

Polling has shown a tightening margin between the two senators, with Warren leapfrogging Sanders in the Real Clear Politics polling index. Both continue to trail former Vice President Joe Biden in polls of the Democratic race.

Several other 2020 contenders are also jockeying for support among working-class voters as the party as a whole works to win back blue collar workers who historically backed Democrats but flipped to President Trump in 2016.