Gerald W. McEntee, the president of the nation's largest public-sector union, has long been looking for a Democratic presidential contender who can be a winner, and two months ago he was leaning toward the candidacy of Gen. Wesley K. Clark.þþMr. McEntee, whose 1.4 million union members are a formidable political force, even asked Harold M. Ickes, the deputy White House chief of staff under President Bill Clinton, to run the Clark campaign, several Democrats said. But over time Mr. McEntee soured on General Clark, and today he plans to announce that his union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, is endorsing Howard Dean.þþThat Dean endorsement, along with one from the Service Employees International Union, will represent a signal moment for organized labor, pointing to uncomfortable fault lines inside the movement.þþThe nation's industrial unions, whose members have been buffeted by global trade, are generally rallying to the side of Representative Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri, who is backed by 21 unions. Meanwhile, in backing Dr. Dean, the two giant and fast-growing service and government-sector unions are in search of a new force and face.þþThe split is also a problem for the A.F.L.-C.I.O.'s president, John J. Sweeney, who has faced recriminations and backbiting over his inability to line up the necessary support of two-thirds of his federation behind Mr. Gephardt for organized labor's coveted endorsement. The Gephardt forces had pressed Mr. Sweeney to call a meeting of union presidents in October, predicting that a two-thirds majority would materialize behind their candidate, but Mr. Sweeney refused, concluding that there would be no consensus and that such a meeting could embarrass labor.þþÿThe A.F.L.-C.I.O. had an opportunity to stand up for the candidate that stood up for labor, and they've chosen to take a pass,ÿ said Bret Caldwell, a spokesman for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, one of the earliest and most fervent backers of Mr. Gephardt. þþIn a telephone interview yesterday, Mr. Sweeney tried to play down divisions, saying: ÿWe're not split. We're unified about the goal here, and that's to elect a president other than George Bush in 2004. I think the labor movement will be solidly united in the elections.ÿþþIn some ways the split within labor goes straight to the heart of various unions' perceptions of themselves, even union leaders acknowledge. The industrial unions backing Mr. Gephardt, like the steelworkers and machinists, see themselves as beleaguered and have embraced a candidate who has devoted much of his career to helping the industrial heartland. In contrast, the service employees union is growing and sees itself as a grass-roots, bottom-up and new type of union — just like Dr. Dean's campaign.þþThomas Buffenbarger, the machinists' president, said of the service employees' and government employees' unions, ÿThey're captivated by the glitz and glamour and the `new day' stuff.ÿ Mr. Buffenbarger added: ÿMy union is going to make our candidate somebody who allows us to go to sleep at night knowing the most powerful official in America isn't plotting how to hurt them. We feel that way about Dick Gephardt. He has our interests at heart. Howard Dean's a nice guy, I like him, but I don't think he understands the depth of the problems faced by industrial America.ÿþþMr. McEntee's thinking is instructive, many labor leaders said. He is known for trying to pick Democrats with the best chance of winning the presidency. His was the first big union to back Mr. Clinton in 1992.þþIn the last 10 days, union officials said, Mr. McEntee, whose aides said he was unavailable for an interview, sent people to question the campaigns of the major candidates, seeking to assess strategy, finances, personnel, field operations and chances.þþEarly this year, Mr. McEntee tilted toward John Kerry when Mr. Kerry was perceived as the candidate to beat, union officials say. But Mr. McEntee became disenchanted with Mr. Kerry when the campaign floundered. Next came his flirtation with General Clark and efforts to place Mr. Ickes in the Clark campaign, labor officials said. þþÿGerry weighs electability very high on the scale of things,ÿ said Andrew Stern, the service employees' president. þþUnion leaders said Mr. McEntee began souring on General Clark when he fumbled over his stance on Iraq soon after announcing his candidacy. Mr. McEntee grew unhappier still, they said, when the general decided not to compete in the Iowa caucuses without telling Mr. McEntee, who had been thinking of mobilizing his union's 30,000 members in Iowa to help the general.þþMr. Stern said his own union endorsed Dr. Dean because its 1.5 million members repeatedly backed him in internal polls.þþÿI don't think there's anything wrong with Gephardt,ÿ Mr. Stern said. ÿBut people feel comfortable that Dean can raise money to be competitive with George Bush. Secondly, everywhere I've been and watched he has drawn a different level of crowds and enthusiasm and passion than I normally see from political candidates.ÿþþDr. Dean's emphasis on improving health care was a major attraction for both Mr. McEntee's union and the service employees, who represent many health-care workers. But for many industrial unions backing Mr. Gephardt, the big issues are saving jobs, shoring up America's manufacturing base and fighting free trade and the flight of jobs overseas — issues that Mr. Gephardt has emphasized in his years in Congress.þþDiscussing the divergent endorsements, one Democratic consultant who often advises labor unions said: ÿI think the division is pretty significant for labor. It in some ways has been brewing for a while. For the industrial unions, the trade debate was the No. 1 issue, but if you ask someone from Afscme or the service employees about free trade or steel quotas, they care as much about that as the average civilian.ÿþþMr. Sweeney, who preceded Mr. Stern as president of the service employees, has faced accusations from industrial unions of not doing enough to protect manufacturing jobs and fight free-trade bills.þþSome union leaders find it hard to understand how any union cannot endorse Mr. Gephardt considering that he is widely seen as one of labor's best friends in Washington.þþÿEveryone knows where the election is going to be won next November — it will be in the battleground states of the Midwest,ÿ said Mike Mathis, political director of the Teamsters union, which has 1.4 million members. ÿNo one is in a better position to win the Midwest than Gephardt. And no one has as good a labor record — I'm talking about 25 years of fighting for working men and women.ÿ þþWith its caucuses in January, Iowa is expected to be a major battlefield. And Mr. McEntee's union is expected to deploy hundreds of foot soldiers to vie with Gephardt supporters from the Teamsters, steelworkers, machinists and other unions.þþSixteen unions that have backed Mr. Gephardt, claiming 55,000 members in Iowa, have formed a group called the Alliance for Economic Justice. The group will organize mailings, home visits and phone banks. The alliance will begin broadcasting television spots today praising Mr. Gephardt.þþÿThese unions may cancel each other out,ÿ said Mr. Ickes, who advises numerous unions on political strategy. ÿBut that doesn't mean labor won't be an effective force.ÿþþFacing criticism that he had not done enough to back Mr. Gephardt, Mr. Sweeney said, ÿI am trying to manage things in as unified a way as possible, but the real challenge is to bring everybody back together in support of whoever the nominee is.ÿþþþþþþ
Source: NY Times
