密歇根新闻广播 劳工会对全民医保有分歧

 

Medicare for All took second place to the dust-ups Wednesday at the Democratic debate, but it's still a prominent issue for a lot of voters. Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren discuss it frequently on the campaign trail. But concerns are developing within some labor¹ unions over the plan for a single-payer health care system. As primary momentum² shifts toward Michigan, eyes are now on union leaders in the state.

Ian Kullgren is a reporter on POLITICO’s employment and immigration team who's been covering this rift³ among organized labor. Kullgren said there are unions that support Medicare for All. But others, like the Culinary Union “who really have one of the best health plans in any union in the country,” are more hesitant.

In Nevada, the Culinary Union declined to endorse⁴ any Democratic candidate ahead of the caucus⁵. Union leaders there have worked hard over the years to negotiate an affordable⁶ and comprehensive health care plan for their members. Kullgren said the union worries that Medicare for All could lead to a worse deal than they have now.

On the other hand, the American Federation⁷ of Teachers has endorsed⁸ both a public option and Medicare for All. Leaders there say "a government-run program would get it [health care] off the bargaining table, and would allow them to focus their fire power on wages and other benefits for their workers,” Kullgren explained.

In Michigan, Kullgren said, union leaders have remained silent on the debate so far. Complicating⁹ the issue is the fact that many local union leaders serve on the board of the insurance company Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS). There are also Democratic politicians in the state with ties to the health insurance industry, including Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Her father was president and CEO of BCBS from 1988 to 2006.

“As a result, she has had a really kind of complicated stance on this issue.” Kullgren said. “She says she supports Medicare for All in concept, but hasn’t given a really detailed¹⁰ explanation for what that means.”

Given that Whitmer won the governor's seat in 2018, Kullgren thinks her stance on healthcare could be in line with many Michigan voters. He said 58% of Democrats¹¹ in the state support Medicare for All, but the policy may not appeal to swing voters.

“So if we want to talk about Michigan reflecting the presidential race as a whole, there’s an argument to be made that it would be wise for some of these candidates, like Pete Buttigieg, to stay on the general election path.

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

3 rift   

n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入

参考例句：

• He was anxious to mend the rift between the two men.他急于弥合这两个人之间的裂痕。
• The sun appeared through a rift in the clouds.太阳从云层间隙中冒出来。

4 endorse   

vt.(支票、汇票等)背书，背署；批注；同意

参考例句：

• No one is foolish enough to endorse it.没有哪个人会傻得赞成它。
• I fully endorse your opinions on this subject.我完全拥护你对此课题的主张。

5 caucus   

n.秘密会议；干部会议；v.（参加）干部开会议

参考例句：

• This multi-staged caucus takes several months.这个多级会议常常历时好几个月。
• It kept the Democratic caucus from fragmenting.它也使得民主党的核心小组避免了土崩瓦解的危险。

6 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

7 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

8 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 complicating   

使复杂化( complicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。
• In America these actions become executive puberty rites, complicating relationships that are already complicated enough. 在美国，这些行动成了行政青春期的惯例，使本来已经够复杂的关系变得更复杂了。

10 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

11 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》