 In the documentary, he described Debs as "probably the most effective and popular leader that the American working class has ever had".Sanders hung a portrait of Debs in city hall in Burlington, Vermont when he served as mayor of the city in the 1980s and has a plaque dedicated to Debs in his Congressional office.It has been argued that Debs was important in first advocating for reforms which were subsequently implemented by more moderate left-leaning politicians, such as banking reform and child labor laws.