Kirkland Says He’d Consider Leaving : Labor: AFL-CIO president wants the right successor, sources say. Donahue will make a run.

AFL-CIO President Lane Kirkland has told key union supporters he will step down as head of the 13.3-million-member labor federation, perhaps as early as August, if the right candidate emerges to succeed him, union sources said Friday.

Kirkland’s decision has prompted AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Thomas R. Donahue to reconsider his retirement and make a run for the top job. Donahue has been contacting union leaders in recent days seeking their support. It was unclear Friday whether Kirkland’s opponents would back Donahue.

There was speculation among several union leaders that Kirkland could announce his resignation as early as this weekend to clear the way for Donahue’s candidacy.

Donahue, 66, announced last month that he would retire in October and would not run for any AFL-CIO post in an effort to “clarify” the political situation and allow union leaders to evaluate potential candidates for the top AFL-CIO posts.

Kirkland, 73, is under intense pressure to step down at the AFL-CIO convention in October when his eighth two-year term as president ends. A coalition of 20 unions representing a majority of the federation’s membership has announced its opposition to Kirkland, warning him to step aside or be forced out.

Both Donahue and Kirkland were traveling to Washington on Friday from Chicago, where they had presided over a conference of regional union leaders, and telephone calls to their offices were not returned.

In an interview with a small group of reporters in Chicago on Thursday, Kirkland said he would consider retiring if “Mr. Wonderful” came along to replace him, according to the Bureau of National Affairs, a newsletter.

Kirkland was quoted as saying the right candidate would be someone who believed in the role of the federation and its constitution. He said Donahue fits that description. His opponents concluded that Kirkland had to step down in favor of more vigorous leadership.