Bernie Sanders, the Independent senator who is running for president in 2016 is pro-working class according to his campaign message. On Friday, September 4, Sanders put his words into action. Sanders joined workers in a picket line at the Penford Products Plant in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Workers may go on strike if a deal is not made between their union and the company.

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Bernie grabbed a microphone and voiced his opinion about corporations.

“We are sick and tired of the war against working families……That’s what we’re seeing here…. We have got to stand together and tell this company that greed is not acceptable.”

This is not the first time Sanders has joined in solidarity with those who are oppressed. Sanders has a 50-year history of not only standing up for minorities and civil and human rights, but for workers as well. On Sander’s senate.gov website, there are pictures of him standing with workers rallying for a minimum wage of $15. Sanders has publicly decried how greedy corporations are wiping out the middle class in an interview with Meet the Press last year.

“I know that the middle class in this country is collapsing. I know that the gap between the very, very rich and everybody else is growing wider. I know there is profound anger at the greed on Wall Street and corporate America. Anger at the political establishments. Anger at the media establishment.”

When Sanders first threw his hat into the presidential race, he was deemed “unelectable” by the pundits. Most likely this was because of Sander’s Independent party affiliation, but he declared himself on the Democratic ticket. As of September 1, polls were showing Sanders to be winning the Democratic nomination. His rallies have drawn thousands of people and his popularity is beginning to surge. Among some of the topics of Sanders’ platform are wealth inequality, worker’s rights, racial justice, women’s rights, and a “living wage.” He is also pushing for free higher education.

Sanders is definitely in the running for president, in spite of his early naysayers. Clinton is indeed getting a run for her money, and Sanders just might nudge her out of the race. The working class make up the majority of the American voters, so if Sanders can gain their vote, he has a clear shot of winning.

Will Bernie Sanders become the new “Working Class Hero”?

[Photo: Jason Noble/The Register]