Presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, speaking at an Iowa labor event for 2020 Democrats, both conspicuously omitted one of the most contentious issues of the 2020 primary: a total government takeover of the healthcare system.
On Wednesday, the Massachusetts and Vermont senators did not bring up “Medicare for all” in an otherwise long list of labor-friendly issues they intend to tackle if elected president.
“I didn’t just discover unions when I decided to run for president of the United States. I’ve been putting my money where my mouth is. My campaign staff is unionized, I’ve helped other people unionize,” Warren told the Iowa Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO Convention in Altoona, Iowa.
Although Warren assured unions that they would have a “seat at the table” when it came to “healthcare, trade, or transportation or manufacturing policy,” Warren neglected to tout her support for “Medicare for all,” one of the key issues splitting the 2020 pack.
Instead, Warren spoke of a litany of issues including climate change, prescription drug costs, an anti-corruption bill, a wealth tax, free college, voter suppression laws, and overturning the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling.
“I believe this is how we’re going to fix what’s broken in our economy,” she said.
Sanders also deliberated avoided mentioning the topic, which has been one of the singular issues his entire campaign revolves around.
Instead, Sanders focused on his new labor policy plan named the “Workplace Democracy Plan.”
“Corporate America and the billionaire class have been waging a 40-year war against the trade union movement in America that has caused devastating harm to the middle class in terms of lower wages, fewer benefits and frozen pensions,” Sanders said. “That war will come to an end when I am president. If we are serious about rebuilding the middle class in America, we have got to rebuild, strengthen and expand the trade union movement in America.”
In June, during the first Democratic presidential debate, Warren said she was “with Bernie [Sanders]” on “Medicare for all.” The two were the only candidates on the stage who raised their hands to the question of whether they’d abolish private insurance markets.
Unions, such as those in attendance at today’s event, have long been skeptical of a total government takeover of the insurance market because it would eliminate their private healthcare plans that are often a source of pride and economic security.
“We don’t support the ‘Medicare for all’ structure. We certainly aren’t in support of a government-control, government-run system at the expense of those that currently have employer-provided, or union-negotiated, plans,” Harold Schaitberger, general president of the International Association of Firefighters, told the Washington Examiner in June. “For members of our union, it would be a significant disincentive.”
Sanders has been asked about union concerns with his healthcare proposal in the past. In response, Sanders has argued that eliminating private healthcare plans would given unions more leverage for higher wages in contract negotiations.
