2 Labor Leaders Report Threat by a Leading Aide to Gephardt

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 — The heads of two large unions endorsing Howard Dean's nomination for president said a close aide to one of his chief rivals, Representative Richard A. Gephardt, had threatened to lobby against collective bargaining rights in Missouri, Mr. Gephardt's home state, if members of the unions campaigned there for Dr. Dean.þþThe union leaders, Gerald W. McEntee, of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and Andrew L. Stern, of the Service Employees International Union, said in a letter they sent to Mr. Gephardt that the threat was made on Monday by his campaign's national vice chairwoman, Joyce Aboussie, in a meeting in St. Louis that included Missouri's governor, Bob Holden, a Democrat.þþCalling the threat ÿunconscionable and outrageous,ÿ Mr. McEntee and Mr. Stern said Ms. Aboussie had asked that union members in Missouri refrain from working for or raising money for Dr. Dean in Missouri and Iowa, where state caucuses open the presidential primary season on Jan. 19. They also said she made it clear that if the conditions were not met, a letter signed by 22 members of Congress would be sent to the speaker of Missouri's House and the president of its Senate, both Republicans, calling for repeal of an executive order that Mr. Holden signed two years ago allowing collective bargaining for state employees.þþThe union leaders urged Mr. Gephardt to ÿdisassociate yourself from Ms. Aboussie, immediately remove her from your campaign and issue a written retraction of her threats.ÿþþIn response, Mr. Gephardt's campaign manager, Steve Murphy, issued a written statement in which he did not deny the union leaders' account of the meeting, saying only that Mr. Gephardt ÿstrongly supports collective bargaining rights for public employees in Missouri and throughout the country.ÿþþBill Carrick, a senior adviser to Mr. Gephardt, said Ms. Aboussie had apologized to Mr. Gephardt, who knew nothing of her remarks. Mr. Carrick said they came in a moment of anger over Mr. Gephardt's losing the unions' endorsements despite a career of supporting labor rights.þþ