Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks to Disney resort workers and supporters at the River Church in Anaheim on Saturday, June 2, 2018. Unions and workers are backing a ballot measure seeking to raise wages to at least $15 an hour. (Photo by Ana P. Garcia, Contributing Photographer)

Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks to Disney resort workers and supporters at the River Church in Anaheim on Saturday, June 2, 2018. Unions and workers are backing a ballot measure seeking to raise wages to at least $15 an hour. (Photo by Ana P. Garcia, Contributing Photographer)

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Diana Huffman, wish UFCW for Local 324, cheers and holds a sign after Sen. Bernie Sanders spoke with Disney resort workers and supporters at the River Church in Anaheim on Saturday, June 2, 2018. Unions and workers are backing a ballot measure seeking to raise wages to at least $15 an hour. (Photo by Ana P. Garcia, Contributing Photographer)

Angel Gonzales, with SEIU, holds a sign as Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks to Disney resort workers and supporters at the River Church in Anaheim on Saturday, June 2, 2018. Unions and workers are backing a ballot measure seeking to raise wages to at least $15 an hour. (Photo by Ana P. Garcia, Contributing Photographer)

Josue Guadarrama poses with a Mickey character before Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks to Disney resort workers and supporters in Anaheim on Saturday, June 2, 2018. Unions and workers are backing a ballot measure seeking to raise wages to at least $15 an hour. (Photo by Ana P. Garcia, Contributing Photographer)



Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) Vermont held a Town Hall visit with teamsters Saturday June 2, 2018 at Shippers Transport Express in Carson. Supporters liten to Sanders speak. (Photo by Robert Casillas, contributing photographer)

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) Vermont held a Town Hall visit with teamsters Saturday June 2, 2018 at Shippers Transport Express in Carson. (Photo by Robert Casillas, contributing photographer)

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) Vermont held a Town Hall visit with teamsters Saturday June 2, 2018 at Shippers Transport Express in Carson. (Photo by Robert Casillas, contributing photographer)

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) Vermont held a Town Hall visit with teamsters Saturday June 2, 2018 at Shippers Transport Express in Carson. (Photo by Robert Casillas, contributing photographer)

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) Vermont held a Town Hall visit with teamsters Saturday June 2, 2018 at Shippers Transport Express in Carson. (Photo by Robert Casillas, contributing photographer)



Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) Vermont held a Town Hall visit with teamsters Saturday June 2, 2018 at Shippers Transport Express in Carson. Sen. Sanders listens to speaker. (Photo by Robert Casillas, contributing photographer)

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) Vermont held a Town Hall visit with teamsters Saturday June 2, 2018 at Shippers Transport Express in Carson. (Photo by Robert Casillas, contributing photographer)

Former presidential candidate and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has championed guaranteed employment and a national minimum wage increase, met workers from two of Southern California’s key industries on Saturday, June 2, to hear their concerns and advocate for better wages and working conditions.

Good morning! I’m in Anaheim at River Church for @SenSanders rally with Disney workers who are seeking higher wages. I’ll be tweeting a bit. pic.twitter.com/vLjJ0Zz2sq — Alicia Robinson (@ARobWriter) June 2, 2018

Sanders made a morning stop in Anaheim for a rally with Disneyland Resort employees, who are backing a November ballot measure to boost pay at businesses that receive city subsidies.

In the afternoon, he visited a Carson shipping company to meet with Los Angeles and Long Beach port truckers and warehouse workers who say they’ve lost pay and benefits because they’re unfairly counted as independent contractors rather than company employees.

Sanders’ message at both events touched on growing income inequality, the need for workers to be treated and paid fairly, and how they can find strength in joining together – familiar themes from his 2016 presidential run.

Everybody’s up and cheering as Bernie takes the stage. Earlier tweet that wouldn’t load) pic.twitter.com/cfZ9F67Ita — Alicia Robinson (@ARobWriter) June 2, 2018

In Anaheim, about 1,500 workers and their families filled the auditorium at River Church with chants of “Ber-nie! Ber-nie! Ber-nie!” and “Sí se puede!”

Sanders told the crowd that wealth inequality in America is greater today than at any time since the 1920s.

“If a corporation like Disney has enough to pay its CEO over $400 million in a four-year period, it damn well has enough to pay its workers at least 15 bucks an hour,” he said.

After praising Disney CEO Bob Iger for canceling Roseanne Barr’s show over her racist tweet, Sanders had another message for Iger: “You have the opportunity to lead corporate America away from the greed which is destroying this country,” he said.

In a written statement, Disneyland Resort spokeswoman Suzi Brown said the company made a contract offer to unions that represent about 9,500 workers that would increase minimum wages to $15 an hour by 2020, and the company is launching a program to help employees get education and skills training.

Under the offer, workers who now earn the state minimum wage of $11 an hour would immediately begin making at least $13.25 an hour, with two more annual increases to reach the $15 minimum.

“We are proud of our commitment to our cast, and the fact that more people choose to work at Disneyland Resort than anywhere else in Orange County. While Mr. Sanders continues to criticize Disney to keep himself in the headlines, we continue to support our cast members through investments in wages and education,” Brown said.

Workers who attended the rally said they stay with Disney because they love their jobs, but many of them have trouble making ends meet.

“We’ve got people that are living four or five people to a two-bedroom apartment. We’ve got people living in their cars,” said costumer Denise Anderson, a 30-year employee.

Anderson said she’s glad to have Sanders supporting workers because “He’s got a big voice” that will help “bring this message back to this big corporation that the world has its eyes on you.”

After the rally, Disneyland restaurant server Jasmine Vaneman, who’s worked for Disney for seven years, said that with Sanders joining their cause, “It definitely feels like more people are going to listen than if it was just the unions.”

In Carson, about 200 people gathered in an asphalt truck yard to hear Sanders say he’s introduced legislation to end workers being improperly classified as contractors and also to make it easier to unionize.

The senator said he’s heard from people who work 18 hours a day and still owe their employer money because of costs to lease and maintain a truck and other expenses.

“Your struggle is the struggle of every worker in America,” he said. “When we come together, nobody is going to stop us in the fight for justice.”

Warehouse worker Bruce Jefferson, 58, of Long Beach, said he came to the event because he wants to work regular hours in safe conditions instead of being treated like a temporary worker.

“The supervisors don’t care about safety,” he said. “It could be 105 degrees outside, and it’s 130 degrees inside the container that we’re unloading.”

Having Sanders’ support “means a lot to me,” Jefferson said. “It’s not just my fight. It’s about the future drivers and warehouse workers.”

Sanders addresses port truckers & warehouse workers pic.twitter.com/VznGlI2cF9 — Alicia Robinson (@ARobWriter) June 2, 2018

But to some opponents of the proposed Anaheim ballot measure and a port trucking company spokesman, Sanders ought to have stayed home.

“While touting himself as a friend of the working man, Bernie has come all this way to support a measure that will result in thousands of lost jobs for the people of Anaheim,” Todd Ament, CEO of the Anaheim Chamber of Commerce, said in a written statement.

For many port truck drivers, the issue is choosing whether to be a company employee or an independent businessperson with more control over their schedule and earnings, Harbor Trucking Association spokesman Weston LaBar said. The association, which represents shipping companies, supports the opportunity to choose, he said.

“What we take huge exception to are people like Bernie Sanders coming in here and saying he’s doing a huge favor” by advocating for truckers to be employees, LaBar said.

Sanders’ visit comes on the heels of comments from officials at Disney and the Wincome Group that they might walk away from planned luxury hotel projects in Anaheim if the proposed ballot measure passes. It would increase the minimum wage for some resort workers to $15 an hour next year and to $18 an hour by 2022.

A study released in February, commissioned by unions that represent Disneyland Resort workers, said many employees struggle to pay for food, housing and healthcare.

Disney officials say that in recent years they’ve promoted hundreds of hourly workers to salaried positions and entry-level leadership jobs.

With the federal minimum wage stagnant for nearly a decade, there’s been increasing pressure at the state and local levels to mandate increases to worker pay, Sylvia Allegretto, an economist who chairs UC Berkeley’s Center on Wage and Employment Dynamics, said in a phone interview.

“The economic pie is growing, workers are more productive than ever, yet they’re not reaping any of the gains,” she said.

Inland Empire-based economist John Husing said he expects wages to rise on their own because the labor market is tight and some employers are struggling to fill jobs. The issue is finding the sweet spot that attracts workers but doesn’t drive employers to use technology to cut costs, he said.

Sanders also planned a third stop Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles for an event on justice reform.