Krystal Ramirez / Special to the Sun
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders waits to take the stage during a town hall meeting at the Culinary Workers Union, Local 226, hosted by Unite Here Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019.
Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019 | 4:14 p.m.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders leaned on his progressive record at a Las Vegas union event today, touting his goals to raise the minimum wage, expand affordable housing and implement socialized health care.
His stance on socialized health care, inextricably linked to his Democratic presidential campaign, was one of the most prevalent issues brought up during the event.
The town hall was the second such event held by UNITE HERE, the national union affiliate of the local Culinary Union. The group hosted a town hall by Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Monday and will host an appearance by former Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday.
Sanders, the original drafter of the Senate’s “Medicare for All” bill, which would terminate private insurance in favor of a government-run option, made a sprawling case for his program to union members, some of whom were critical of the plan’s demolition of private health care.
“We have, in this country, a dysfunctional, broken and cruel health care system,” Sanders said. “We spend twice as much per person on health care as do the people of any other country.”
There have been concerns raised about single-payer health care in some organized labor circles, as such a program would essentially override health care agreements unions negotiate with employers.
Union member Elodia Munoz asked Sanders about his health care proposal. One of his arguments — that employers would save on health care and, therefore, allow employees to make more money per paycheck — seemed to resonate with the crowd. As a hypothetical situation, Sanders said employers would pay $3,000 for health care rather than $15,000, giving the employee more money.
“You know who gets that $12,000? You get that $12,000,” he said.
He did receive some pushback, though.
Sanders was heckled during his answer by supporters of union health care. The hecklers were shut down by UNITE HERE President D. Taylor once Sanders stopped talking.
“If you want to heckle, go outside and heckle,” Taylor said. “We want to learn. The town hall meetings are to learn from each candidate.”
Taylor also reiterated the union’s position that health care is a human right.
After the event, Munoz said she agreed that everybody should have access to “great” insurance, but she prefers the health care negotiated by the Culinary Union.
Undecided voter Victor Chicas said he came out to hear what Sanders had to say about proposals including health care, of which he said he preferred union-negotiated benefits.
He stressed, though, like many others, that access to health care should be a right. He said that a lack of insurance can put people in awful situations.
“In the past, if you had cancer or anything, you (may) have to sell your house to get the treatment,” Chicas said.
Sanders also tackled labor law, stating that if 50% plus one of the employees in a workplace sign on, they will immediately have a union, and that he would repeal the section of the Taft-Hartley Act that allows states to implement right-to-work laws — laws that bar unions from requiring all employees who benefit from union negotiation to pay for union representation.
Maria Balicanta, who works as a porter at the Golden Nugget, asked Sanders about companies like Airbnb that allow private residences to be rented out for short periods of time. Balicanta said the businesses can impact union members by drawing people away from traditional lodging like hotels.
While Sanders did not offer specifics, he said it was an issue he would work on tackling.
“We will take a very hard look at the impact of these (businesses) on the industry,” he said.
