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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Another example of corrupt corporate collaborating Union “ leaders “ working against the best interests of their members.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><b><span style='font-size:24.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Bernie Sanders And The Culinary Workers: Behind Effort In Nevada To Undermine Support For His Campaign<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='text-align:left'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><a href="https://medium.com/@kevin_33184?source=post_page-----f9f10ccf815c----------------------"><span style='color:blue'>Kevin Gosztola</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><a href="https://medium.com/@kevin_33184/bernie-sanders-and-the-culinary-workers-behind-effort-in-nevada-to-undermine-support-for-him-f9f10ccf815c?source=post_page-----f9f10ccf815c----------------------"><span style='color:blue'>Feb 15</span></a> · 9 min read<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Jon Ralston, political journalist, commentator, and founder of The Nevada Independent (Screen shot <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/craig-melvin/watch/key-nevada-union-hits-sanders-78688325578" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue'>from MSNBC</span></a> is fair use as it is included for news reporting and criticism)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Weeks before the Nevada caucuses, Senator Bernie Sanders’ Democratic presidential campaign engaged in massive outreach to rank-and-file workers in the Culinary Workers Union, which is viewed as highly influential in the state.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>The Sanders campaign talked to workers at their homes and work sites. They <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/02/11/bernie-sanders-new-hampshire-nevada/" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue'>sent</span></a> “hundreds of thousands of pieces of mail to culinary workers, who are Latino in Nevada.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Yet, about a week before early voting started in the Nevada caucuses, the Culinary Workers Union leadership moved to suppress interest and support for Sanders among their own members.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Leadership approved and <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6774361-Culinary-Union-flyer-on-Sanders-wanting-to-end.html" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue'>distributed</span></a> a “union scorecard” for presidential candidates that singled-out Sanders as a candidate who would “end Culinary Healthcare,” “require Medicare For All,” and “lower drug prices.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>The Nevada Independent, a “nonpartisan nonprofit news and opinion website founded in 2017 by veteran political journalist and commentator Jon Ralston,” gained notoriety for <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/in-new-flyer-culinary-union-warns-members-sanders-would-end-their-health-care-if-elected-president" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue'>reporting</span></a> on the scorecard. Coverage stirred <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/culinary-union-officials-face-profanity-laced-attacks-after-scorecard-says-sanders-would-end-their-health-care" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue'>anger</span></a> among lowly Sanders supporters, and the narrative <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-sanders-nevada/democrat-sanders-nevada-union-in-escalating-feud-ahead-of-state-nominating-contest-idUSKBN207031" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue'>evolved</span></a>: “Democrat Sanders, Nevada union in escalating feud ahead of state nominating contest.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>It upset several rank-and-file workers, including workers in the larger umbrella organization known as UNITE HERE. They <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeW1fhTsi39gxB58R2c9_sxntSGJdChLaB6SnFNvvFplR7qWQ/viewform" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue'>urged</span></a> members to sign on to a letter of support for Sanders and Medicare For All.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Union leadership announced on February 13 they would not endorse any candidate.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>What went virtually ignored was the conflicts of interest of the Nevada Independent, as well as the record Ralston has as a political journalist known for promoting false stories and manufacturing the news. Nor was there attention given to the Culinary Health Fund and the incentive that union leadership has to drive a wedge between Sanders and rank-and-file workers.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>As POLITICO <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/13/nevadas-powerful-culinary-union-declines-to-endorse-a-2020-candidate-115019" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue'>noted</span></a>, the Culinary Workers Union and its affiliates “represent some 60,000 workers in the restaurant and hospitality industries in Las Vegas and Reno. It is also the largest immigrant organization in the state, with Latinos accounting for more than half of its membership, and it is a major source of voter mobilization.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>“Nevada is the early voting state with the largest Latino population, 29 percent,” POLITICO added.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Ralston’s Nevada Independent has <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/our-donors" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue'>received</span></a> $957,500 from MGM Resorts International, which owns The Mirage, $145,000 from Caesars Enterprise Services LLC, $31,500 from Boyd Gaming, and $7,500 from Caesars Entertainment.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>The Culinary Health Fund is what is known as a multi-employer Taft-Hartley Fund. It pays for health insurance coverage for members through collective bargaining agreements.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Employer trustees for the Culinary Health Fund <a href="https://www.culinaryhealthfund.org/library/UNITE_HERE_Health_Trustees.pdf" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue'>include</span></a> executives from Boyd Gaming, Caesars Palace, Hilton Worldwide, Hostmark Hospitality Group, Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, The Mirage, Sodexo, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Tishman Hotel Corporation, and Geneva HRM Advisors, which is involved in corporate labor relations.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Neither of these donors were disclosed at the bottom of the Nevada Independent’s coverage, despite the outlet’s stated commitment to transparency. However, the outlet acknowledged the Culinary Workers Union donated $7,325 to support their work.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>The casino and gaming corporations, which financially support the Nevada Independent, have an incentive to keep contract negotiations focused on health care to limit the leverage union workers have to demand better pensions, higher wages, and improved workplace conditions, which may undercut profits.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Spreading Fake News During The 2016 Primary<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Jon Ralston on KTNV Channel 13 Las Vegas in 2016. (Screen shot <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrATrlHsFVI" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue'>from KTNV</span></a> and fair use as it is included for news reporting and criticism.)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Ralston will be one of the moderators for the MSNBC/NBC News Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas, which is scheduled for February 19.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>In 2016, according to Snopes, a leading fact-checking organization, Ralston <a href="https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/did-sanders-supporters-throw-chairs-at-nevada-democratic-convention/" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue'>falsely claimed</span></a> that Sanders supporters “threw chairs at a Nevada convention.” It was “widely reproduced by other news outlets,” including MSNBC, CBS, the Associated Press, and the New York Times.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>“Convention ended w/security shutting it down, Bernie folks rushed stage, yelling obscenities, throwing chairs. Unity Now! On to Philly 2/2,” Ralston tweeted. He also <a href="https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/did-sanders-supporters-throw-chairs-at-nevada-democratic-convention/" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue'>declared</span></a>., “Hey, Berniebot chair-throwing truthers: It happened. People saw it, including one journalist who was there and reported it.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Around three weeks before the Nevada caucuses in 2016, Ralston “reported” that “operatives from Bernie Sanders’ campaign [had] donned Culinary union pins and secured access to employee areas inside [Las Vegas] Strip hotels to try to garner votes for the February 20 caucus,” according to “sources.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>A headline at his personal website <a href="https://www.ralstonreports.com/blog/sanders-workers-are-masquerading-culinary-members-campaign-inside-hotels" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue'>read</span></a>, “Sanders workers are masquerading as Culinary members to campaign inside hotels.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Geoconda Argüello-Kline, the secretary-treasurer for the union, “confirmed” the reports of Sanders’ staffers “attempting and gaining access to employee dining rooms.” She said the union was “disappointed and offended,” and added, “It’s completely inappropriate for any campaign to attempt to mislead Culinary Union members, especially at their place of work.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Neera Tanden, the Center for American Progress director who was a part of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, <a href="https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/54501" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue'>gleefully</span></a> <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/how-bernie-sanders-campaign-disappointed-and-offended-nevada-s-most-powerful-union-21015499103b/" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue'>shared</span></a> a link from CAP’s Think Progress website, where the story from Ralston was boosted. “See we are not always bad!” (Argüello-Kline is a <a href="https://www.culinaryunion226.org/union/officers/geoconda-arguello-kline" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue'>member</span></a> of CAP’s Advisory Board.)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Jennifer Palmieri, who was the Clinton campaign’s communications director, replied, “It’s great!”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2016/01/28/politics/bernie-sanders-union-nevada-culinary-union/index.html" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue'>followed-up</span></a> on the report. Jeff Weaver, the campaign manager for Sanders’ 2016 campaign, maintained no staffers “ever misrepresented who they were.” In fact, Sanders staffers wore the Culinary Union’s button “in solidarity with people” in the union. They also wore “Bernie paraphernalia.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Emilia Pablo, who was the Nevada communications director for Sanders, was stunned by the response of the Culinary Workers Union. “It is surprising because we have been building a positive relationship with them from the moment that we go to the ground. We have always thought we have had a positive relationship with them and for them to come out so strongly against us and to go to the press first, that surprises me.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>In both election cycles, the effort to undermine support among not only rank-and-file members but also Latinos in Nevada came as Sanders surged in the polls. Clinton, as Ralston <a href="https://www.rgj.com/story/news/politics/2016/02/14/ralston-reports-team-clinton-growing-nervous-nevada/80330062/" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue'>reported</span></a>, saw a 25-point lead in Nevada evaporate after Sanders’ huge victory in New Hampshire.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>A national Morning Consult poll released on February 12 showed Sanders surged 10 percent among Latino voters to 48 percent. “Political strategy company Plus Three <a href="https://plusthree.com/strategy/hispanic_outreach/sanders_leads_candidates_in_latino_fundraising/" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue'>found</span></a> in a study published [February 13 that Sanders has four times the donations from Hispanics of any other Democrat running for president,” <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/14/polling-shows-sanders-extending-lead-among-hispanics-ahead-nevada-caucuses" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue'>according</span></a> to Common Dreams.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>“In Iowa’s 12 Hispanic-majority caucuses, Sanders got more than 66 percent of the raw vote. The next highest percentage was former Vice President Joe Biden, with close to 11 percent of the vote,” <a href="https://aldianews.com/articles/politics/elections/how-bernie-sanders-flipping-his-2016-script-latino-voters-2020/57615" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue'>wrote</span></a> <i>Al Día</i>’s Nigel Thompson.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Biden’s campaign has cratered since the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary, leaving industry interests panicked that Sanders may pick up a massive win in Nevada.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Culinary Workers Town Hall ‘Was Not Pretty For Bernie Sanders’<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Although Jon Ralston did not author the reporting at the Nevada Independent, he went on MSNBC multiple times to promote the agenda of Culinary Workers Union leadership.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>“The union has basically said to members, listen — this is the leadership, of course. We have your best interests at heart. We have gotten you this Cadillac plan. Bernie Sanders wants to take that away,” Ralston declared on “MSNBC Live” on February 13. “Whether you agree with that characterization or not, that is the messaging to their members.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Ralston added, “Bernie Sanders and the other candidates went and did town halls with the Culinary members. The issue [of health care] came up, and it was not pretty for Bernie Sanders.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Yet, video of the town hall, which occurred on December 10, shows Ralston is misrepresenting or outright exaggerating the tension that occurred between Sanders and union members.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>At the town hall, Sanders was <a href="https://twitter.com/kgosztola/status/1228131459933843456?s=20" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue'>told</span></a> by a member, who was part of the Frontier Hotel and Casino worker strike, one of the longest labor strikes in history, that she wanted to keep her Culinary Health Plan. She was very concerned about losing coverage if Medicare For All was adopted.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Sanders let her speak, and then he launched into part of his stump speech. “Number one, we’re going to expand Medicare to cover dental care. Because dental care is health care,” and, “We’re going to make sure everyone in America who need it has hearing aids, has eyeglasses.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>“And the other thing that we are going to do is have Medicare cover home health care so that elderly people are not pushed out of their homes,” Sanders added.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Workers cheered and applauded the policy proposals, which Sanders advocated.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>“We are going to have Medicare For All because we are going to take on the greed of the pharmaceutical industry and lower drug prices significantly. Nobody will pay more than $200/year for prescription drugs,” Sanders promised.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>A small group of members in attendance chanted, “Union health care! Union health care!” But Sanders never lost control of the room. He directly addressed the concern about their union health plan.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>“Because we spend so much on health care, your employer is spending a lot on your health care,” Sanders replied. He argued ending the “bureaucratic nightmare of thousands of separate health programs that have to be administered” would save “hundreds of billions of dollars.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Medicare For All would mean “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 the $12,000? You get the $12,000,” Sanders stated.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>What Sanders said was met with cheering and applause, and he reiterated some of the points he previously made then concluded his answer. The crowd applauded, and by that time, there was no more chanting or disruptions.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Still, D. Taylor, who once <a href="https://unitehere.org/d-taylor/" target="_blank"><span style='color:blue'>led and grew</span></a> Culinary Workers Union, took the microphone and said, “I believe in town hall meetings, but we’re going to let candidates speak without any sort of heckling. And if you want to heckle, go outside.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Workers did not boo or become angry when Taylor scolded a small group in attendance. They did not object. Rather, there were people who clapped when Taylor admonished them.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Furthermore, Taylor declared, “This union stands very strongly that every single American, just like Senator Sanders has said, deserves to have good quality health care. It is a right. It should never be a privilege in this country,” which workers applauded.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Ralston and the Nevada Independent omitted any specific details from this town hall from their coverage. Nor did they explore any of the issues around union health care.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><b><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>‘I Just Hate Socialists’<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Weaver previously described Ralston as a “journalist/talking head held out as a local expert on state politics — your go-to insider.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>He wrote in his book, <i>How Bernie Won</i>, “Most states have one. Unlike most, Ralston’s view is, shall we say, more ‘truthy’ than truthful.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>The “truthiness” of Ralston’s views inflame widespread opposition to the very brand of cynical political journalism that he has peddled to make a name for himself. Dividing or undermining support among Latinos, who support or are interested in the Sanders campaign, benefits industry interests in Nevada and beyond.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Back on April 25, 2017, the Las Vegas Democratic Socialists of America asked Ralston, “What bias do you operate under then? What is your ideology? Educate us.” He responded, “I just hate socialists.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Finally, Ralston and The Nevada Independent claim to be nonpartisan, but Stephen Cloobeck, the founder of Diamond Resorts International and a big-money donor to the Democratic Party, has contributed $600,000 to the Nevada Independent.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>In 2016, he donated $1 million to Priorities USA, a Super PAC aligned with Clinton, and over a half million to the HIllary Victory Fund and Hillary Action Fund. He also gave $100,000 to the Democratic National Committee.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Many rank-and-file workers in the Culinary Workers Union and UNITE HERE believe Medicare For All would offer them a huge benefit because it would “expand and improve” upon their health care “benefits and choices available to members.” It would “provide benefits” to their “extended family and adult children currently excluded” from their plans.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Expanding Medicare For All would “guarantee uninterrupted health care regardless of layoff, job loss, or disability.” It would “completely eliminate out-of-pocket costs, such as co-pays and premiums.” And it would “guarantee money saved by employers will go to workers” — and not bosses, giving members a pay raise.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal align=left style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:left'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"'>Ralston, the Nevada Independent, and the corporate interests that fund his media outlet are entrenched in the status quo, which is why they push a story about literature from the Culinary Workers Union leadership that divisively suggests Sanders is as much of a threat to rank-and-file workers as Trump.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>