Labor Politics in Ohio

Tom Lehman TLEHMAN at lor.net
Sun Sep 12 06:47:07 PDT 1999


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.



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