Brown Looks North, Courts the Labor Vote

For the presidential quest of Edmund G. (Jerry) Brown Jr., Tuesday always stacked up as a lot less than super.

So, faced with the prospect of no big victories, the former California governor donned a United Auto Workers jacket, passed out brown paper bags marked with his campaign slogan--”We the people”--and courted the support of organized labor for the Michigan primary next week.

“We’ve got a crisis on our hands, because too many people are bought and paid for by people who are anti-labor,” Brown told 800 people at a United Auto Workers regional conference. He was interrupted several times with standing ovations.

Although winning no states Tuesday, Brown claimed vindication, pointing out that his shoestring campaign was vastly outspent by Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton. “If I had half the money of Clinton, I’d probably have beaten him in most of the states,” Brown said, contending that his standing in Florida polls doubled after just one visit.

Brown, a champion fund-raiser in previous campaigns, accepts no contribution larger than $100, even though the legal limit for individuals is $1,000. He contends that money has corrupted the political process and that his campaign is an effort to redeem it.

Brown’s efforts to attract the labor vote paid off in Nevada on Sunday, when he won the state’s caucuses with the endorsement of the largest union in Las Vegas. Now he is aiming at Michigan and Illinois, both with primaries next Tuesday.

He offered a clear preview of his approach Tuesday, holding up a Business Week magazine cover with the headline “Detroit South” to complain about high-paying factory jobs being lost to Mexico. “I’m going to fight for Detroit North--Detroit America,” he told television reporters.

Earlier in the day, Brown met with union officials who represent workers at the Willow Run plant, which General Motors has announced plans to close. “We have some kind of worker genocide in this country, where cheap wages are the first step and moving offshore is the second step,” he said.

The 5,000-member local previously had supported Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, who abandoned his own quest for the presidency Monday. On Tuesday, the leadership said it would recommend that the rank and file vote for Brown.

Sounding more protectionist than he has in previous appearances, Brown said as President he would declare a “state of crisis” and demand a summit conference between the United States and Mexico to discuss what he views as the jobs problem. Although opposed to a “fast track” free-trade agreement that he says jeopardizes American jobs, Brown stopped short of opposing the principle of a free trade accord.

Brown also sought the votes of students. At the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, he said students should not have to go into debt to pay their college tuition, and he called for a massive environmental cleanup.

“I don’t have the endorsements of the lawyers, the insiders, the guys--and I say guys because it’s mostly guys--who got us where we are,” he said. “I’m asking for your help.”

Afterward, he spoke outdoors to hundreds of students who were not able to fit inside to hear him. “We have the feared 800 number,” Brown said, referring to his technique of raising campaign funds. Then he added, to laughter: “If you’ve been ripped off, call us.”