The Daily - The Field: An Anti-Endorsement in Nevada

Episode Date: February 21, 2020

Note: This episode contains strong language.Senator Bernie Sanders is a staunchly pro-union candidate. But he has found himself mired in an escalating battle over health care with the largest labor union in Nevada. With what some call “the best insurance in America” — the fruit of struggles including a six-year strike — members of the Culinary Workers Union have been reluctant to support Mr. Sanders’s “Medicare for All” plan. We went to Nevada to ask how what is effectively an anti-endorsement of Mr. Sanders from the union’s leaders may affect his support in the state’s caucuses on Saturday.Guests: Jennifer Medina, who is covering the 2020 presidential campaign for The Times traveled to Nevada with Clare Toeniskoetter and Austin Mitchell, producers for “The Daily.” For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Background reading: Mr. Sanders, who is betting on the Latino vote to win the nomination, is trying to convince Nevada’s union members his policies are in their best interest. His rivals are trying to capitalize on the fight.The Nevada Democratic Party has been scrambling to put in effect safeguards in its caucuses to avoid the technical issues that created a debacle in Iowa. Here’s how the caucuses will work.

So they're like, oh. Hi. Should we take a photo? This is a perfect match. Describe what that was. So that was two show girls with giant feather crowns. And they have like wings? Wings.

Wings on the back with black and white feathers, knee-high black patent leather boots. Topless? Topless, but with rhinestones on the nipples. Can we say that on the radio? I don't know. From the New York Times, this is The Field. I'm Jenny Medina in Las Vegas, Nevada.

We have just entered a casino, and I'm sort of overwhelmed by the number of sounds and lights. Oh, a cocktail waitress in a blue lace dress, short. This is roulette. This is blacha. I think this is craps with scenario where you walk in high heels, strutting. I sort of have a cigarette in my mind in this fantasy. Money is no object. I'm just here to play with it.

I'm just here to have a good time. Queen of the world for one day or one night. That's what Vegas is all about. It's like complete fantasy life. But to make all that happen, behind that all, are thousands and thousands and thousands of people who often can kind of seem to almost blend into the scenery. Serving drinks, serving food, cleaning up, fulfilling whatever wish or dream you've got for the night. And there's something that unites most of them.

Is the staff here, are you in the union? Yes. Which union? Aquarinari. Okay here, are you in the union? Yes. Which union? Culinary. Okay. Are you part of a union? Which union are you part of? Culinary.

Culinary. Okay, thank you so much. I'm just wondering, are you a part of a union here? Union? Yes. Culinary. Culinary? Yes.

The Culinary Union, which is Nevada's largest union and is considered one of the most powerful players in Democratic politics. So the Culinary Union has about 60,000 people in the state of Nevada. And that is pretty remarkable because it's in a state where only 84,000 people participated in the last Democratic caucus. And the Culinary Union is a hugely diverse organization. It's overwhelmingly women. It's more than 50% Latino with another large population of Black and Asian American workers. And with Nevada being the first predominantly non-white state to weigh in on the presidential race, that makes the culinary union's endorsement sought after by all the presidential candidates. And the union members really understand this power. They chant, when we vote, we win.

They know that if they vote together, they really have the power to influence elections. And this year, it's particularly interesting because it all centers around one issue. And that's their very generous health care plan that the union has really fought hard to get. Okay. You guys ready? So earlier this week, I went with producers Austin Mitchell and Claire Tennis-Getter to the Culinary Union Hall, an industrial group of buildings in the shadow of the Las Vegas Strip. And we went to speak with two women, Gloria Hernandez and Olivia Muniz. They're both in their 60s, very well put together, wearing jewelry and nice manicured nails. And Olivia is wearing a red Union t-shirt.

So tell us when you first became members of the Culinary Union. Well, I can tell you it was in October 1988. That's Gloria. And how about you? May 2, 1992. And that's Olivia. Wow, you both know the exact date? Yes.

Why? First, because it was my first union jobs in the United States. And it's something that's going to change my life and my family. So that's why I never forgot the date. Where are you from? I'm from Mexico. South Mexico, Guadalajara.

I just came in in 1985. And I was like 27 years old. So the first couple years Gloria was here, she was raising her kids, working some odd jobs, mostly babysitting and cleaning apartments. And then this is what I do before I start working at the Frontier. She's talking about the Frontier Hotel and Casino. It's not around anymore, but it was one of the first hotels and casinos on the Strip.

It had this Western theme. And in 1956, Let's welcome, ladies and gentlemen, Elvis Presley. It hosted a 21-year-old Elvis Presley in his first Las Vegas performance. Well, since my baby left me Well, I found a new place to dwell Well, it's down at the end of Lonely Street at Heartbreak Hotel Barrage. And I started working as a bus person.

And when Gloria started in 1988, the hotel was unionized. And you knew immediately that when you started working there that you would get health insurance. Yes, because it was a union. But then... When the Ilardis family buy the property, she said, I'm not going to have a union. And I said, no way. There was a new owner who started to dismantle the contract. She just dropped the salary for an hour.

They also say no more medical insurance. So it was a big change when the Ilargis family took over the hotel. And that's about the time Olivia comes to town. I moved to Las Vegas in 1989 from El Paso, Texas. I started working at the frontiers, basically housekeeping job. And that year, I hear from my co-workers they used to be a union the casino used to be a union and all the benefits they have about the vacations because at that time we don't have no vacations anymore and we don't have um holidays pay neither we they she a margaret lardy take away everything so we just decided to organize to see what is the next step

we have to do to fight. They both begin to organize with their co-workers. And then... We just came, all our co-workers. Here. And the Culinaria Union, yes. And we just boarded.

The bully is 464 strike, 7 no. We decided to go on strike. Oh I still feel goosebumps about it. Good evening, picket signs are going up in front of the Frontier Hotel. The culinary workers are walking out on Frontier owner Margaret Alardi at 6 o'clock in the morning. So everybody is working. So at the time that we're just going to say, okay, the strike is going to start 6 o'clock in the morning. Everybody just leave whatever they was doing. If they preparing a drink, the bartender or cocktails, they leave everything over there and they come out. You can see that all the workers, the energy, the feeling. We started union, union, union and we was ready for that. We need a union!

That's union, feeling close, fighting for their health insurance. Workers begin picketing outside the frontier 24 hours a day. The people on these picket lines today, they say either it already comes up with a decent contract or this picket line becomes a permanent fixture on the strip. already comes up with a decent contract, or this picket line becomes a permanent fixture on the strip. When we come out over there and you make your decision, you don't know how long it's going to be.

Imagine every single day we feel that when it's going to be ending. The strike goes on for a year, then two. Christmas, New Year, Thanksgiving, all those times. One day longer! Then three. What we are is union. What we are is family.

We are brothers and sisters, middle-class Americans, fighting, fighting to make sure that this country is better during this four long years of this godforsaken strike. Four years, five years, and it's not ending. And then one day, they get word. Now the union organizers, they call us. We're going to have a meeting at the union hall, all the strikers.

You know that when it comes to a labor issue, if you read it in the Las Vegas Sun, it's more than likely true. At the meeting, one of the leaders holds up the front page of a local newspaper, and the headline reads, Frontier Sold. The hotel was sold. And the person who bought the property decided to unionize. And give everything what we're fighting for. Union! Union! Union! What we we're fighting for. What we've been waiting for.

The Culinary Union announced just a short time ago that the frontier strike is finally reaching an end. The strike ended after six years, four months, and ten days. It was one of the longest strikes in American history. So much time went by that 107 children were born to strikers. Many of my co-workers, you know, they pass away during those years when we are fighting for that. And 17 strikers died. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm sorry.

It was a big message for this city. And I believe, honestly, if I have to go on a strike again for these benefits and for these rights, I do, with my eyes closed. If somebody were to ask you, what's the most important benefit? I can guess your answer already. But explain first, what is the most important benefit? I don't want to assume. The most important for me, honestly, is medical insurance. My husband used to pay $200 every paycheck for medical insurance. So $400 a month.

The centerpiece of membership in the union, which this strike helped pave the way for, is their health care plan. I have a heart surgery. Heart surgery. I was eight days in intensive care, and I paid zero. The whole procedure, all the different doctors, you paid zero dollars? It's like Cadillac insurance for us. To be a housekeeper or a bartender or really anyone with this kind of coverage is really remarkable. There's usually no copay. There's usually no out-of-pocket expenses. It costs its members virtually nothing except for union dues.

I want to go to the caucuses, to the politics for a minute, if I can. When the candidates came through here, who did you each see? Which candidates did you hear speak? Amy and also Peter. So all of the presidential candidates come on a sort of pilgrimage here, seeking both the support of the members and the endorsement from the leadership. Our union is very powerful, you know. They know how powerful our union is. So today, Elodia and Gloria are both union organizers.

And as part of the union leadership, they are particularly invested in protecting the health care that they fought for. Elodia, can you tell me about your shirt? Oh, we both we win. We both we win. Well, if everybody stand up and do the right thing, we're going to have the victory, right? We're going to win. So it's about the power of the union of everybody? Basically what it is. Yeah. Yeah, that's basically what it is, yeah. Do you think you'll have that victory in this caucus? Well, yeah, why not?

What will victory look like? To protect our insurance. That's what we're looking for. That's the main thing for us, you know. So we just have to protect it. And this year is really the first year that leading presidential candidates have plans that would effectively eliminate it. And one other thing that we are going to do is we're going to tell the wealthiest people in this country that they're going to start to have to pay their fair share of taxes. That's all. A couple months ago, Bernie Sanders came to the union hall to speak with the members.

A couple months ago, Bernie Sanders came to the Union Hall to speak with the members. We have a former Frontier striker, Elodia. Elodia, you want to ask a question? Elodia, tell me about the town hall with Senator Sanders. I was here for it, but... My name is Elodia. I am a Frontier striker. Well, yeah, I asked him about the medical insurance. We want to strive to protect our health care. We love our culinary health care. We want to keep it. I don't want to change it.

Why I should change it? I asked him because for me the insurance means a lot. I mean, for all of the members, including me. Choo choo say! Choo choo say! Choo choo say! Choo choo say! Choo choo say!

Choo choo say! Thank you. We have in this country a dysfunctional, broken, cruel health care system. Now let me deal with the issue that's on your mind. Because we spend so much for health care, your employer is spending a lot on your health care. On the Medicare for all because we end the profiteering of the insurance companies and the drug companies that made a hundred billion last year, we save many many hundreds of billions of dollars. And that means that means that means that means that your employer will not have to pay $15,000 a year for your health care.

Your employer will pay $3,000. That's a $12,000 differential. You know who gets that $12,000? You get that $12,000. So in other words, what we are proposing is... He said something like, if there's Medicare for all, you'll have more money in your paycheck. Yeah, this is just promises, you know, and hope, you know. We like to keep what we have, what is real, what is true.

Not what we don't know it will be. It's like a wish. We need to hear that he wants to protect our insurance, that he wants to listen to us. In the weeks leading up to Saturday's caucuses, the tension between Bernie Sanders and the union leadership has really escalated. Last week, the union began sending emails and texts to its members and began circulating these flyers, which compared candidates on three issues, immigration, jobs, and healthcare.

On immigration and jobs, all the candidates were effectively the same. They would strengthen collective bargaining. They would protect DACA. They would create a pathway to citizenship. But on healthcare, they were presented as something very different. The more moderate candidates would, quote, protect culinary healthcare. Elizabeth Warren would eventually replace it. And Bernie Sanders, they said, would, quote, end it.

Late this morning, the Sanders campaign put out a response to the flyer. It reads in part, the senator has stood for workers his whole career, and his Medicare for All plan is crafted for the working class and union members. And then? The union yesterday said it received vicious attacks by Sanders supporters, including hostile phone calls and tweets. The union released a statement... People who claimed to be Bernie Sanders supporters launched online attacks at the leaders of the culinary union.

Obviously, that is not acceptable to me. And I don't know who these so-called supporters are. You know, we're living in a strange world on the internet. And sometimes people attack people in somebody else's name. But let me be very clear. Anybody making personal attacks against anybody else in my name is not part of our movement. So there's this air of ill will between Sanders and the union, and it's in this atmosphere, actually while we're on our way to Vegas, that the union announces a press conference about its endorsement.

Good morning, everybody. Good morning. Welcome. Welcome to the Culinary Union. I know we want to talk about the endorsement, but before we do that... So they come out and say, yes, health care is the big issue. Every human being deserves to have a good health care. We believe in that. But we believe in choices, too.

We believe in that. But we believe in choices, too. We believe in that. But instead of endorsing a candidate, And the official announcement is we're going to endorse our goals, what we're doing. They endorse their goals and their values. We respect every single political candidate right now. We know Vice President Biden for many years. We know he's been our friend. Presumably because they're worried about throwing their weight behind the wrong moderate. But by endorsing health care as a goal, they effectively have made

an anti-endorsement of anyone who threatens to take away that health care. And it's a pretty remarkable thing that they're anti-endorsing Sanders. Sanders is really popular among Latinos. He is seen as extremely pro-union for his entire career, and he's received endorsements from other unions in the state. But for this union, the culinary union, all that other stuff might be less important than the message they're hearing, which is that a vote for Sanders is a vote to eliminate the very thing they've worked so hard to create. So with all this, we're curious to see how members are reacting. are you all here to vote are you here to vote yes so we're back at the culinary union hall where early voting has started do you mind if we ask you really quickly who you're voting for

do i have to tell you? You don't have to do anything. And because Nevada has a caucus, it's a little bit different. My candidates are Joe Biden, Tom, and Amy. Instead of picking one person, people rank their preferences. Those are my three candidates. And why are they your three candidates? Instead of picking one person, people rank their preferences. Those are my three candidates. And why are they your three candidates?

Now, Joe Biden's been with us ever since day one. And Amy, she even supports the union as well. And Tom Sawyer talks about you can keep your insurance. And is the health insurance issue for you the most important issue? Of course. We got the best insurance in America. It take care of me and my family. As we're walking around, Do you have the union paper?

This one? Yeah, yes. We noticed that a lot of people are holding these pieces of paper. So what are you holding? This is a paper... For the union. The union gave out. Yeah. And we realized that it's the same flyer that had been texted and emailed

and passed around in break rooms all over the Strip. I need to see, I see that. The paper right here. The union scorecard. Yeah, so on the paper you've highlighted Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, and Tom Steyer. Yeah, and Bernie Sanders, you wrote no underneath. Oh, okay. I put it in there. Okay. Yeah, why?

I don't know. I need to. So it's clear that many people are voting with the union in mind and their health care. So then there's this sort of fascinating encounter we have. I see you're wearing a Bernie pin, so is it correct to assume that that's who you voted for? Well, no, I was voting for insurance on, you know, a couple of candidates who were going to keep our insurance stuff going. So who did you vote for? Well, no, I was voting for insurance on, you know, a couple of candidates who were going to keep our insurance stuff going. So who did you vote for? Joe Beyer, Amy something, and the other lady. So why are you wearing a Bernie pin if you voted for somebody else? Because I'm a Bernie Sanders supporter. But you didn't vote for him. No, but it was something totally different. But I did come in with a Bernie Sanders pin.

I'm sorry, can you explain that to me? What it means to be a supporter but not vote for him? Well, the vote, this wasn't what, we weren't voting for the presidents on this one. We were voting for what do you call it, for our insurance. To keep our insurance going on. You were voting for who should be the presidential

nominee. No, that's not what I was going for. What were you told? I don't want to do this anymore. Okay, thank you. So this guy has clearly gotten the message this is about health care, so much so that he takes it literally and thinks that he's voting on his health care, not choosing a presidential candidate,

in which case he would have voted for Bernie Sanders. Just curious to ask you about who you voted for. Bernie Sanders, all the way. All the way. Why? Now, we do meet union members who chose Sanders. But I like Bernie Sanders so much because he's never changed. Interestingly, many of these people we speak with say that they haven't gotten the message from the union,

telling them that a vote for Sanders would take away their health care. My first candidate is Bernie. Bernie. Bernie. Others have, and they don't care. Or they like him for other reasons. Well, one of the biggest things to me is that Bernie is planning to give the free school for kids. My son is in college.

Healthcare is just not their top issue. I'm a reporter with the New York Times. Can I ask who you voted for? Number one, Bernie. Bernie Sanders. Yeah. So at some point, Claire and I see Austin talking to this guy who looks to be in his 60s.

And it turns out he's been in the union for 29 years. Emigdio. Emigdio. Emigdio. Emigdio. Emigdio works at a casino called the Golden Nugget. A utility porter is clean carpets, polish the marble, working in the high place. So I'm sure Austin already asked you this, but who did you vote for?

Yeah, but we answer already. Bernie. Yeah, Bernie. We love Bernie. Love him. Yeah. So we know that Bernie is talking Medicare for all and replacing. No, no. I think it's a better system. You know, it's for all, not for a few people. It's for all people.

Yeah. Are you worried at all about your great medical care being changed? Yeah, it's okay. It's okay because, you know, the minority people get access. A lot of people don't have access now. It costs money. Isi, if we want to follow up tomorrow, are you working? I'm off tomorrow.

So we say goodbye to Emictio. And we notice that this woman, who had been sort of standing around hovering as we were talking with him, follows him to his car. So they are, like, listening to everything. So explain when you say they are listening. What do you mean? So somebody from the union is here kind of monitoring and there's lots of press here so it's kind of easy to understand why but they're kind of listening to the conversations and then they've they've followed after the conversations have ended seem to be following up with them i presume asking what they've said yeah I'm not hearing the left, that's why.

Oh, no. Okay. I mean, he might just not answer. He might be working. A couple of days later, we call Emigdio back, wanting to understand what had happened. Hello? Hi, Emigdio. This is Jenny Medina, the reporter you met from the New York Times. How are you? Good, good. How you doing?

Good, good. Thank you. Are you working? No, I'm out now. Okay. Emigdio, do you have a couple minutes? I just wanted to follow up. Ah, pues, es que sabes que pasa. No, no sabe que pasa. Yeah. And as soon as we start talking to Migdio, he seems to be questioning what he told us

about his support for Sanders. I say we are confused about, you know, that this candidate, you know. He feels confused, he says. He sounds different than he did when we first met him, when he was so clear about his enthusiasm for Sanders. Can you tell me what happened after you spoke with us? Somebody came over to talk with you. What happened? And so I asked him about the woman who followed him to his car. Well, you know what? It's real confused for me, you know? I don't know what is to happen with that representative from the union.

Remember the last Saturday, the skinny lady? And she's saying, hey, do you want to get an interview with, you know, the press or TV? Don't do that by yourself. See? He sounds, on the one hand, kind of indignant. What do you think your rights are? He knows his rights. He knows he has the freedom to speak to us. But clearly what happened had some kind of an impact on him. Can you tell me what the woman from the union said to you on Saturday? Did she mention Joe Biden? No.

Did she mention Bernie? No. Then why did... Oh, maybe she did. She did. Maybe she did when we talked about Bernie Sanders. I think so, yeah. What did she say about Bernie Sanders?

But he don't mention nobody. What did she say about Bernie Sanders? He's unclear on exactly what the woman said, except for he should not talk with us without a union representative present. Okay, okay. he should not talk with us without a union representative present. Okay. Okay. Okay. Bye-bye. Emigdio is not the only person who has told me that the union has discouraged them from speaking with the press. And I'm finding this pretty confusing. Is the union trying to stop members from saying that they're supporting Sanders? And if so, why?

Are they trying to create this narrative where there's overwhelming disdain for Medicare for All? I don't know. And on Tuesday night, the head of the culinary union, Gioconda Arguello-Klein, agrees to talk with us. So we go back to the Union Hall where there's this big event going on. There's music and there's tacos. It's a town hall with Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar. So we sit down with Gio Conda after the event.

The communications director of the union, Bethany Kahn, is also there. So Gio, you're the leader of the Culinary Union here in Las Vegas. So I want to ask you about something we've seen happen over the last few days. So we spoke, for example, with one member on Saturday who had voted for Senator Sanders, and he was really enthusiastic, very excited to vote for him. But then the next day we called him to ask him some follow up questions. And he seemed to have really changed his heart. And he said that he was told by a union representative that he should not voice his political preferences to the press, to us. Do union representatives have instructions to steer people away from speaking to the press? Representatives have instructions to steer people away from speaking to the press. Yeah, so we make sure that workers know their rights and that they know that you might follow up with them, right? And so we just let them know this was a reporter. And at this point, Bethany, the communications director, jumps in.

That's pretty much it. We don't tell them anything, right? We haven't endorsed. It's mostly about making sure that they know their rights and protecting them on the work. We've talked about this, Jenny, before. I think you've accused me blatantly, and I think that's not acceptable. We represent the workers, and my job is to protect them even after you're gone. I understand that.

So let me tell you what one person told us. He spoke with us. I'm not going to tell you his name. I understand that. So let me tell you what one person told us. He spoke with us. I'm not going to tell you his name. Yeah, yeah. One person that we spoke to said that after he spoke with us, he was told that he should not speak to the press without a union representative present. Is that the policy of the union? Jamie, did you make an accusation?

I'm not making an accusation to you. I'm asking a question. No, no, but in the idea by Jamie. Really, I don't know. Because for talking to the press, we're not going to say, oh, you need to have a union representative. So I am asking, is it the policy of the union, and I want to make sure I'm asking you both, is it the policy of the union to tell members that they cannot speak to the press without a union representative present?

We don't have policy to say don't talk to the press and like that with the union with the union wrapping there. So why would this person be told not to speak to us without a representative present? Tell you the truth I don't know. I really don't know. Would you discourage somebody a member from who supports Sanders from speaking to the press? That's their business, not mine. What I put into you is the facts. What is the health care for you, and what is protecting your health care, and what is not protecting your health care?

You decide. We are upset. It's the way we'll be treated. I can show the pics of my daughter, same as last night. You have to look. Look, read this. This is from my daughter. This is from the followers of Senator Sanders.

I honestly can't see. Can you read it? Yeah. Fuck you off. You can read it better than me. Over here. Look at what they say. You read, fuck off, Gioconda.

Okay, read it. If Sanders loses and we don't get Menachor for all, and a union worker gets cancer and gets fired, and he or she dies, their blood will be on Gioconda Arguello-Klein, who for selfish reasons decided to spread these lies. This is a text that Gioconda's daughter sent her of some tweets about Gioconda specifically that Sanders supporters

wrote after the union released its scorecard. You think that's right for a mother to say this? 9 p.m. after work all day? I'm very upset. And I'm going to keep talking. Nobody's going to quiet me. Nobody. Because this

is what they're doing to minorities. This is what they're doing to women of color. Who's they, when you say they? The Bernie supporters. They used to bully people, and nobody stand them. But Gio, there's also Bernie supporters

who are women of color. But listen, they attack these women of color, too. And they attack these women of color too. And you know why they're attacking us, Janie? Because we put the facts. I'm not going to be quiet. They're not going to put a tape in my mouth. They will not.

Because you know I believe in democracy. I do. I've been 40 years in this country. 30 years I've been fighting for the working family to have a better life. 30 years. And right now, after 40 years, they tell me, fuck off, leave this country? That's right? No. If any woman of color don't support what we say, sorry for them. But I'm going to fight for the people who are women of color and they go through harassment. I want to ask you one other thing, though.

There are women of color who are supporting Bernie Sanders. What would you say to those women? I would say, look, you know what? If you have divisions in women of color who are being harassing, do you really fight for the real moment? Do you really fight for the real moment? Movement. Yeah. That's my question.

That's the only question. Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate it very much for your patience and for talking with us. Thank you very much for your patience and for talking with us. Thank you. Someone's backpack? It's mine. Yep.

Thanks. Thanks. So this is not at all what I had been expecting. I went there wondering why the union might be trying to keep its members from talking about their votes if those votes went against the recommendation of the leadership. But it had turned into this complicated, messy thing where it's hard to know if Gioconda is upset about my questions or about the messages she's receiving from Sanders supporters who are furious at what they see as the union's effort

to stop Sanders from winning in Nevada, or about the threat that she thinks Sanders poses to this health care plan that she and others work so hard to get. And it's just kind of feeling upside down. If you had described to me a working class Latina woman active in a union and then asked me who I thought that person would vote for in this election, knowing nothing else, I would have told you that that person would probably vote for Bernie Sanders. But the reality is that same woman fought for years to get this health care plan that has become vital to the union's existence.

And of course, this is just one union in one state. But it's also the embodiment of the central question of a Sanders candidacy. If you have something that you like or that's working well enough, are you willing to give it up on the belief that there's something even better out there? Are you part of the union? Yes. Part of the culinary union. The culinary union. And did you follow the fight?

But there are also many people I've spoken to who are ready to give it up. And are you happy with the medical care that you get through them? I'm happy with that. But of course, you know, like if we have another option to get something the same or almost the same, why not? And if it's going to be for everyone, I think that's the best thing we can have. Yeah. And are you worried at all about losing the culinary plan, which is what the leadership? Why not?

No. Because I think if this plan that they are proposing is good, why are we going to be afraid, right? If you keep your job and you keep working and you do what you're supposed to do, I think there's nothing to worry about it, you know. These are people who say that the health care coverage they have should be available to everyone. That Medicare for All would mean that their friends and families have care like that too. They're not so worried about losing something. They're more focused on helping others gain something. And that's a value they say they learned from the union. The Nevada caucuses begin tomorrow. The latest polling shows Bernie Sanders with a clear lead, around 26 percent,

with Joe Biden in second, around 15 percent, with Joe Biden in second, around 15%, and Pete Buttigieg and Elizabeth Warren close behind in the low teens. The Daily is made by Theo Balcom, Andy Mills, Lisa Tobin, Rachel Quester, Lindsay Garrison, Annie Brown, Claire Tennesketter, Paige Cowett, Thank you. Mark George, Luke Vanderplug, Adiza Egan, Kelly Prime, Julia Longoria, Sindhu Yanasambandhan, Jasmine Aguilera, MJ Davis-Lynn, Austin Mitchell, Sayer Kavado, Nina Patuk, Dan Powell, Dave Shaw, Sydney Harper, Daniel Guimet, Hans Butow, Robert Jimison, and Mike Benoit. Our theme music is by Jim Brunberg and Ben Landsberg of Wonderly. Special thanks to Sam Dolnek, Michaela Bouchard, Stella Tan,

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