PLAIN DEALER BUREAU
WASHINGTON - When John Ryan, the aggressive
leader of the Cleveland AFL-CIO, had a chance to
pick the brain of a presidential candidate this summer,
he found basketball hero and former senator Bill
Bradley to be a "personable, down to earth, nice
guy."
But he was not convinced that Bradley offered union
families anything more - or more distinct - than his
better known rival, Vice President Al Gore.
"I would love to be his neighbor," Ryan said of the
easygoing Bradley. "But he's not going to be my
neighbor."
That could become Bradley's problem. Both Bradley
and Gore have favorable records from unions on labor
issues, excepting their support for international trade
deals such as the North American Free Trade
Agreement (NAFTA). But simply mirroring positions of
the Clinton-Gore administration may not be enough to
pull the teachers, steel workers, carpenters,
pipefitters, government employees and other unionists
away from the vice president, who is seen almost as
an incumbent.
Ohio labor leaders say they are willing to hear Bradley
out, but until or unless he shifts his position on trade
or takes some other strong stand on an issue near
and dear to the hearts of working men and women,
the drift in Ohio is toward the vice president.
"If Bill Bradley came out and broke with his past in
support of trade legislation . . . I think he would start
cleaning up," said Warren Davis, director of the United
Auto Workers Region 2 in Cleveland. "As it is now,
both Gore and Bradley have almost identical records,
particularly on trade."
ý/subhed/þNAFTA still dirty word
Union leaders believe that lowering tariffs and other
barriers to international trade has killed U.S.
manufacturing jobs by flooding domestic markets with
foreign goods and making it easier for American
companies to move operations off-shore. Gore,
Bradley and other free traders among Democrats
argue that easing trade restrictions also opened up
more foreign markets to American businesses,
potentially adding hundreds of thousands of jobs to
the American economy over the long haul.
Gore has resisted calls from unions for quotas on
foreign steel imports, which surged to record levels
last year. Bradley, who spends most of his campaign
days in Iowa and New Hampshire, hasn't jumped into
the steel fight in Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania and
West Virginia.
"I have been wondering where he [Bradley- stands on
these issues," said Joe Kostic, president of the United
Steel Workers of America Local 1123 in Canton. "If he
is going to break away from the Gore position I would
have to take a serious look at him.
When it comes to many other labor issues - making it
easier for unions to organize, raising the $5.15
minimum wage by $1, expanding family and medical
leave time, extending health care coverage, or barring
companies from hiring permanent replacements for
strikers - Gore and Bradley sing in harmony.
During his 18 years in the Senate representing New
Jersey, Bradley scored an 86 percent favorable rating
on votes graded by the AFL-CIO. Gore, also a former
senator, was at 88 percent.
At this point, Davis said, "Bill Bradley is just Al Gore
with a jump shot."
ý/subhed/þVoucher disclaimer
But on education, Bradley starts his race with a poor
grade from teachers' unions because he voted for
experimental voucher programs while in the Senate.
Vouchers allow parents to send their children to
private or parochial schools, but public school
teachers say the loss of students and money harms
public education. Bradley now says he does not
believe vouchers are the right answer for public
school problems.
"We are more inclined to be sympathetic toward Gore
because on the big national issue, which of course is
vouchers, and related schemes to erode public
schools, we see Bradley not as hostile, but soft on an
issue that is very important to us," said Richard
DeColibus, president of the Cleveland Teachers Union.
At this juncture, the AFL-CIO, Teamsters, UAW and
other national umbrella labor organizations have not
made formal endorsements in the 2000 presidential
campaign. But that could change when the AFL-CIO
holds its national convention in Los Angeles next
month.
Ryan thinks the big union's ruling body could decide
on an endorsement then, even though it would be
extremely early in a campaign that has yet to see a
single primary vote cast. Both Gore and Bradley will
be on the invitation list.
While unions represent a shrinking share of the
national work force, their members still represent a
significant voting bloc in Ohio. Just over one-fifth of
Ohio workers are unionized, compared to 13.9 percent
nationwide.
"They are loyal voters, loyal foot soldiers, they help
out economically with fundraising," said Ohio
Democratic Chairman David Leland. "Anything you
have to do with campaigns to be successful, they are
going to be there."
This is particularly true in a primary, where turnouts
are smaller and voters tend to identify more closely
with the party line than in general elections. But
labor's "foot soldiers" know how to bring out the
Democratic vote in Ohio's urban centers in general
elections, too.
ý/subhed/þStill a power
Michael Dawson, press secretary to Republican Sen.
George Voinovich, said that in the 1998 general
election Democrats were more successful than they
had been in years in getting out the vote in their
traditional Ohio strongholds. It was due almost
entirely to the phone banks and canvassing of union
members, he said.
Leland, who is neutral on his party's candidates,
believes unions are heading toward the Gore camp
partly because the vice president has courted them
during his nearly seven years in the White House.
But "I don't think you can count Bradley out," said
Cuyahoga County Democratic Chairman Jimmy Dimora,
who would like his organization to get a little more
attention from the Gore campaign.
Bradley, the lanky former shop steward for the NBA
New York Knicks, has the outsider's appeal as the
only alternative to Democrats weary of the
Clinton-Gore brand of leadership, Dimora said.
"You can win in Ohio even if labor is against you,"
Dimora said. "It is much more challenging and much
more uphill, but not impossible."
Gary Hart proved that in 1984. With the labor
movement solidly behind former Vice President Walter
Mondale, Hart carried Ohio in a three-way primary
race that saw Jesse Jackson finish third.
Hart did it by outworking and outspending Mondale in
Ohio, and by cutting into his margin among
rank-and-file union voters.
Warren Davis, for one, is willing to at least listen to
Bradley. The UAW leader says he is frustrated after
nearly seven years of disagreement with an
administration that will not protect American workers
from the whims of the global marketplace.
"I am not enthralled with the candidates," Davis said.
"In some ways, perhaps, Bradley would come as a
fresher candidate. In Ohio and other states, he might
be a more attractive candidate. He doesn't have the
Clinton "baggage' with him."
e-mail: tdiemer at plaind.com Phone: (216) 999-4212
©1999 THE PLAIN DEALER. Used with permission.