Sanders seeks to smooth Nevada union tensions as rivals pounce

[left-of-center2012]

Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday sought to ease tensions between his supporters and an influential Nevada union that exploded this week after the union publicly criticized his campaign's push for "Medicare for All."

A powerful Nevada union said Sanders supporters "viciously attacked" it after the union warned its members about the candidate's "Medicare for All" proposal. The fracas prompted a number of the Democratic presidential contenders competing with the Vermont senator for the nomination to jump to the union's defense, after it said it had come under “vicious” attacks from Sanders supporters.

The public battle between Sanders supporters and Nevada's powerful culinary union, which represents 60,000 workers in the hospitality-industry dominated state, broke out after the union sent out a flyer Tuesday warning that Sanders’ Medicare for All plan would "end Culinary health care."

A culinary union representative then said Wednesday that Sanders supporters had, subsequently, "viciously attacked the Culinary Union and working families simply because our union has provided facts on what certain health care proposals might do to take away the system of care we have built over 8 decades.” The union pays for members' health care through a special trust fund.

Culinary, in particular, has a unique stake in their health care. It has a nonprofit health care fund for its members and the union built its own health care facility in 2017. The Culinary Health Center includes primary, pediatric and urgent care, along with vision care, dental care, MRIs, and CT scans, the union's director of communications, Bethany Khan, told NBC News this week. She said the staff is bilingual, which mirrors the union's membership, and the services have low or no copays.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/sanders-seeks-smooth-nevada-union-tensions-rivals-pounce-n1136451

[krissey]

1. After five years, Cenk, Rogan endorsement, he speaks up to soothe feathers? Not endearing.