L.A. Power Broker Faces Test

It was the first day of hearings on a controversial $11-billion plan to modernize and expand Los Angeles International Airport. In the gilded chamber of the Los Angeles City Council, airline representatives, residents and business leaders bustled around the marble columns.

One man stood out.

It wasn’t just his demeanor -- the contented look of someone anticipating a big victory. It was the knowing glances cast his direction by passing officials, the council members hurrying over to whisper in his ear and squeeze his shoulder.

Miguel Contreras carried a certain amount of clout as one of the five members of the Airport Commission. But airport officials had asked him to sit in the front row on that October morning last year because of his other role.

As the leader of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, Contreras has transformed the association of 345 local unions into what is broadly acknowledged as the most formidable political machine in Southern California.

The labor leader had lobbied exhaustively for the airport expansion, which promised to create thousands of construction jobs. Before the council meeting, he had warned that those who opposed the plan would be “asked to explain their vote” when seeking labor’s endorsement.

In the council chamber, he addressed the 15 elected officials.

“The labor movement encourages all of you, every single one of you who have come to us in friendship, to cast your vote in favor,” Contreras told them.

Disgusted, Westchester resident and LAX expansion opponent Denny Schneider watched from a couple rows back.

“ ‘Godfather’-like,” he recalled thinking.

The council would approve the expansion plan 12 to 3.

With his wireless glasses, slightly cherubic face and rapid-fire speech, Contreras bears little resemblance to Marlon Brando’s Vito Corleone. But the son of Central Valley farmworkers, a 52-year-old union organizer who never went beyond high school, is uniformly viewed as one of the most influential people in Los Angeles.

“I can’t think of anyone more powerful than Miguel,” said Tim Leiweke, president of Staples Center and Anschutz Entertainment Group.

Now, however, Contreras’ reputation as a power broker is on the line. His federation endorsed Mayor James K. Hahn for reelection over Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa, a former union organizer it backed four years ago. Although the labor movement will have a friend in the mayor’s office regardless, Contreras’ future heft may rest on his ability to get his members to campaign against one of their own.

Contreras has methodically cultivated his sway over the city’s political class, marrying the activist spirit of his United Farm Workers origins with a keen political acumen and cold calculations that sometimes stun even his closest friends. Despite notable failures, including the 2001 mayor’s race, his power has grown, nurtured by his success at claiming victory for labor no matter the outcome.

Since the late 1990s, he has helped the Los Angeles unions propel a raft of pro-labor candidates into elected office. The federation’s reach is evident not only at City Hall but also in Sacramento, where more than two dozen legislators hold office largely thanks to labor.

Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles) says he talks to Contreras every day, “more than with my own children.” Contreras is close to Senate Majority Leader Don Perata (D-Oakland), whom he helped win his leadership post last year. (The only branch of state government to which Contreras lacks entree is the governor’s office; he and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger have never spoken.)

More than a dozen members of California’s congressional delegation got their seats with the federation’s backing, including Rep. Hilda L. Solis (D-El Monte), who said that labor’s role in helping her beat a Democratic incumbent in a 2000 primary caught the attention of lawmakers around the country.

Contreras assumes a modest tone when asked about the reach of his influence.

“I think they’re describing the L.A. Federation of Labor and not Miguel,” he said. “And that’s what I wish they would do, because it’s not about one individual.”

But his victories have bred an ego that has become a running joke among friends and family.

Nunez has a tactic to remind Contreras that his head is swelling: “I start humming the theme song to ‘The Godfather.’ That brings him back down to reality.”

Contreras’ successes inspire both admiration and resentment, but it’s rare to find people who will publicly criticize him. Many who have faced off against the labor leader praise him as disarming and refreshingly candid. Others are less impressed but still wary. One business leader accused Contreras of operating through “bullying and intimidation” but refused to be named, saying it could provoke retaliation from the unions.

In his neatly pressed dark suits, Contreras blends right in at City Hall. But a gnarled scar across the palm of his left hand, a childhood injury from the fields, testifies to his mission. He studies, fascinated, Mexican revolutionaries, including Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata.

“I’m just intrigued by this stuff, how someone like them, who both grew up poor, could change a country,” he said. “Now, were they the cleanest guys around? No. But the fact is they changed a system.... I ask myself, if I were in that time period, who would I be?”

But friends say that for all of his rhetoric, Contreras is a silky tactician, not an outside agitator.

“The way Miguel operates is not from the standpoint of advocating protest politics,” said Nunez, who succeeded Contreras as the federation’s political director before being elected to the state Assembly. “He’s a skilled negotiator.”

He so relishes it, in fact, that at least once a month he travels to local swap meets around Southern California and in Tijuana to hone his bargaining skills. “Even if it’s $5 pottery, I’ll negotiate for an hour,” he said.

His next goal?

“I have one desire left, one thing I want to accomplish: to help take someone to the White House,” Contreras said.

A Disciple of Chavez

It has been a dramatic trajectory for the young boy who began working in the arid fields of the Central Valley at age 5, lugging water to his father and older brothers as they picked raisin grapes. Both of his parents were farmworkers -- his father left Mexico City to work in the United States in his 20s as part of the bracero guest-worker program -- and their six sons all labored on a grape and fruit ranch on the outskirts of Dinuba.

The scar that cuts across his left palm was acquired when he was 8, as he slashed at the grape vines with a knife. With no health insurance, his parents waited several days until they realized the wound was serious before taking him to a doctor.

His family became involved with the United Farm Workers in the late 1960s, after meeting co-founder Cesar Chavez at a rally for Robert F. Kennedy in Dinuba. By the time he was 17, Contreras and his brothers were driving to San Jose on weekends to hand out grape boycott leaflets at grocery stores.

When the grape growers agreed to a contract with the UFW in 1970, the 400 workers on their ranch elected Contreras’ father as ranch committee chairman, the equivalent of local union president.

Three years later, right before the contract was to expire, the ranch foreman drove to Contreras’ house before dawn and fired his father, who had worked there for 25 years.

Contreras’ father became a strike captain, leading his family and others in picketing the ranch. Thousands of farmworkers went on strike that spring and summer, despite court injunctions declaring the action illegal. They were arrested so often that the county jails began to resemble UFW halls, the cell walls etched with the group’s eagle insignia. Contreras estimates that he was locked up at least 18 times.

“At one time, my mother had five of her sons and her husband in jail,” he recalled.

Working in the movement -- and with Chavez -- was transforming.

“Mexican farmworkers were seen as nothing more than agricultural implements, to be used and discarded like you would discard an old shovel or an old hoe,” Contreras said. “He gave us a feeling of real self-worth and a feeling of breaking away those imaginary shackles you had to the grower and standing up for yourself.”

When the 1973 strike failed to secure workers the right to join the UFW, Chavez revived the boycott of California produce, in the process teaching Contreras a lesson he still draws on today.

“He would say, ‘Workers don’t lose,’ ” Contreras recalled. “ ‘When you fight, there’s always a victory.’ ”

Chavez dispatched Contreras to Toronto, where he spent three years running the grape boycott there. Then he went to Salinas, where he organized lettuce workers, and to San Francisco, where he helped lead local hotel workers in a monthlong strike.

That action brought him to the attention of the international Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union, which recruited him as a national organizer. The job brought him to Los Angeles in the late 1980s.

The hotel workers’ Local 11 was embroiled in a power struggle, and Contreras was charged with sorting out allegations of ballot fraud. Organizer Maria Elena Durazo, who was challenging the local’s leadership, led her supporters in a rowdy picket, protesting Contreras’ involvement.

She eventually was elected president of the local, and her views on Contreras changed: The two married in 1988, an instant power couple.

Reshaped Unions’ Role

In Los Angeles, Contreras found a labor movement with limited influence. The city had been historically hostile to unions and, although labor eventually emerged as a key Democratic ally in the 1980s and early 1990s, its participation in local politics consisted mostly of writing checks to pro-labor candidates.

In 1994, he was tapped as the federation’s political director and immediately sought to reshape the unions’ role. Contreras applied himself to winning over the often-quarreling local union leaders and insinuating himself into the city’s power structure. He persuaded individual unions to support one another’s labor actions and created relationships with community organizations and religious groups, which have in turn bolstered the workers’ cause.

At a time when the national labor movement has struggled, Los Angeles’ unions have racked up a remarkable number of victories: securing a living wage ordinance in the city, winning substantial wage increases for workers and beating back a state initiative aimed at limiting the collection of union dues for political purposes, among other measures.

Since Contreras was elected secretary-treasurer of the federation in 1996 -- becoming the first non-white to win the seat -- the unions’ ranks have grown by 125,000 to more than 800,000, an increase fueled mostly by the city’s burgeoning Latino immigrant population.

“People across the country look at L.A. as a model of success,” said Anna Burger, international secretary-treasurer of the Service Employees International Union.

Despite its growth, the federation’s political activism has alarmed some leaders of the area’s building trades -- older unions with largely white and African American memberships -- who believe Contreras has used the federation to advance the influence of Latinos.

“The joke around some of the trades that it’s the ‘L.A. County Federation of Hispanic Labor,’ ” said the leader of one affiliate, who did not want to be quoted by name criticizing a fellow union member.

Contreras argues that he has merely focused on the area’s demographic realities. “If we’re going to grow our union membership in Los Angeles, it’s because we’re making an outreach to workers that are here,” he said.

But he’s sought to smooth over the anxiety by building coalitions with African American pastors and community leaders around issues such as a proposed Wal-Mart in Inglewood. In the last two years, the federation has run successful high-profile campaigns for two African American candidates: Martin Ludlow for City Council and Karen Bass for state Assembly.

A tangible sign of Contreras’ broader success can be seen in the dues that the local unions funnel to the federation: about $200,000 a month, double the amount a decade ago.

Contreras has also used creative techniques to expand labor’s influence. In 1997, he and other union leaders set up a nonprofit, the Voter Improvement Program, which has raised large sums from Hollywood studios and large corporations such as Anheuser Busch Inc., which are prohibited from donating directly to unions. With the money, VIP has registered labor-friendly voters and backed pro-union ballot initiatives.

The federation has spawned an imitator: The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce is attempting to copy its approach by working with 30 other chambers in the county to press a joint agenda.

“We realized that we needed to build a network that was equivalent of what Miguel had,” said George Kieffer, the chamber’s immediate past chairman.

Those who don’t share Contreras’ politics acknowledge his successes, even as they complain. “I think the unions have a bit too much power now,” said state Education Secretary Richard Riordan, who became a friend of the labor leader when he was mayor of Los Angeles. “They’re scaring jobs out of California.”

Contreras rejects such arguments.

“We’re trying to protect the middle class and trying to create a bigger middle class,” he said. “And we don’t think we should apologize for that.”

‘Making Winners’

On the political front, Contreras has used his organizing victories to change the federation’s approach from passive donor to power broker. He created a sophisticated ground operation unrivaled in Los Angeles: By his count, about 3,000 union members in the last decade have worked in various campaigns.

“We’re not about picking winners. We’re about making winners,” he has said repeatedly.

The strategy has met with mixed success.

In 2001, Contreras boosted the mayoral campaign of then-Assembly Speaker Villaraigosa, a former teachers’ union organizer and longtime friend, by helping him secure the federation endorsement over Hahn.

But his behind-the-scenes maneuvering infuriated many leaders of the city unions and building trades, who believed Contreras had manipulated the process on behalf of an ally they viewed as less qualified. Many broke from the federation to support Hahn.

Even without their backing, the federation launched one of its biggest campaigns ever, spending $1.4 million and devoting hundreds of volunteers to help elect Villaraigosa. He lost by seven points to Hahn, who won more than half of union households, according to a Times exit poll.

Contreras was undaunted and refused to take the blame. It belonged to Villaraigosa, he said, for failing to turn back Hahn’s attacks.

“Antonio might feel good about himself today for taking the high road, but he ain’t the mayor of Los Angeles,” Contreras said.

Two years later, however, he sought to reestablish labor’s political might with twin efforts to put pro-labor candidates on the City Council. Dubbed by Contreras the unions’ “motion-made-and-seconded campaign,” his troops helped elect Villaraigosa and Ludlow.

Contreras bragged that their victories confirmed the unions’ clout at City Hall.

“We will give every single council member the right to be our friend,” he said.

For all of his posturing, however, the unions have seen defeat at City Hall. Several council members have beaten labor-supported candidates. Still, Contreras’ power persists: the federation’s ability to mobilize ground troops remains singular in Los Angeles, and few at City Hall want to risk challenging him.

“Sooner or later, people are going to be up for reelection, and you’d rather have labor on your side than against you,” said council President Alex Padilla. “People are going to run for state office, and you’d rather have labor on your side than against you.”

But the current mayoral election has tested Contreras’ loyalties as well as labor’s influence.

Hahn shrugged off allies who were upset about Contreras’ efforts on behalf of Villaraigosa in 2001 and assiduously courted him as mayor, appointing him to the Airport Commission and supporting various labor actions.

At Contreras’ request, Hahn appointed labor ally Madeline Janis-Aparicio to the board of the Community Redevelopment Agency. From there, she’s helped the unions agitate for such measures as inclusionary zoning, which would require developers to include affordable housing in their projects.

In return, the labor unions spent about $1 million helping Hahn beat two secession ballot measures in 2002.

“I wanted to build a relationship with Miguel because I recognized how important he is,” said Hahn, adding that “labor has found an ear” with him.

That created a dilemma for Contreras. Villaraigosa had jumped in the mayor’s race again -- despite Contreras’ urging him to stay out -- and he still commands strong loyalty among many labor members. But others believed Hahn deserved their backing.

In the end, Contreras’ cold pragmatism won out. The federation’s political board, with his blessing, voted to endorse Hahn.

“It would be a wrong message to try to take out an incumbent who basically did everything you asked him to do, even though we have greater friends in the race,” Contreras said.

His decision upset and bewildered Villaraigosa, according to those who know both men. But when asked if he was angry with Contreras, the councilman, after a long pause, replied simply: “No.”

Labor spent about $600,000 campaigning on Hahn’s behalf in the weeks leading up to the March 8 election, a bit more than half as much as the unions spent backing Villaraigosa in 2001. Contreras said that, as an incumbent, Hahn needed less assistance.

On election day, the mayor and the councilman won the top two spots, propelling them into a run-off campaign. But Hahn came in nine points behind Villaraigosa, who won a larger share of the union vote, according to a Times exit poll.

Regardless, Contreras cast the results as a union victory.

“Part of it is we are a victim of our own success,” he told the Daily News. “After all those years of telling people to vote for Antonio, it’s hard to tell them to vote for someone else.”

Now, however, he must persuade enough of the rank and file to back Hahn to secure the mayor’s reelection -- or explain why labor, yet again, could not deliver a victory for its mayoral candidate.

An Unassuming Figure

For all his renown in political circles, Contreras does not have a high profile among the city’s general populace and doesn’t seem to seek one. At big events, he is an unassuming figure, often standing at the periphery of a crowd, a guarded look on his face. He’s more at ease behind the scenes, joking mischievously with politicians and regaling them with stories.

Contreras admits his intense focus on politicking has distanced him from the union rank and file. At a recent breakfast sponsored hosted by the federation at the Los Angeles Convention Center, he held court at a front table with a gaggle of City Council members and state legislators, while hundreds of union members mingled throughout the large hall.

Later that afternoon, he failed to show up at a downtown rally organized by security guards seeking to form an SEIU affiliate. And aide said Contreras was huddled with Nunez, the Assembly speaker, plotting strategy for an upcoming meeting with Los Angeles Unified School District Supt. Roy Romer.

As SEIU leaders led the workers in chants and cheers, union members offered mixed reviews of Contreras’ leadership. Joel Vasquez, a janitor in Century City, disputed the notion that Contreras had infused the city’s labor movement with new clout.

“The power is not at the top,” said Vasquez, 43. “It’s at the bottom with us, the workers.”

Contreras, ever politic, agrees.

“If we’re going to be successful, we have to have the involvement of our rank and file,” he said.

Still, he ends up spending most of his time with the city’s political insiders. Contreras serves on seven boards and commissions. He blames his jammed schedule for his low attendance at Airport Commission meetings -- missing more than a third of the sessions since he was appointed in 2003.

Contreras jokes that he still keeps farmworker hours: up by dawn, in bed long after dark. It’s a schedule that taxes his family. He and Durazo have a 14-year-son, Michael, who grew up at union meetings and on picket lines, much as Contreras did.

Recently, he told his father, “Papa, I might not want to be in the union movement.” He wants to work at ESPN.

“I was a little stunned,” Contreras admitted ruefully. “I was like, ‘What?’ I have more work to do there.”

Contreras, who was reelected in 2002, is up for another term next year. His next project, he said, is to challenge the incumbents on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

“We consider them anti-union, pretty much across the board,” he said. “Before I leave this thing, we are going to change the Board of Supervisors.”

After that, he may take a leave of absence from the federation to help a 2008 Democratic presidential candidate. So far, he’s been most impressed with John Edwards. The North Carolina senator called on Contreras during his presidential bid last year, and they talked again when Edwards was in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

“I know the labor movement around the country pretty well, and I would like to take someone to the White House,” Contreras said. “I want the opportunity to at least try it.”

Times staff writer Jennifer Oldham contributed to this report.