Davis Fills Business and Labor Posts

Gov.-elect Gray Davis chose two new members of his upcoming administration Monday--a former labor activist to head the state’s Department of Industrial Relations and an accomplished businesswoman who becomes the first Latina secretary of business, transportation and housing.

The appointment of Steve Smith to the Industrial Relations Department was welcome news for labor unions, who strongly supported Davis during his campaign but have recently become concerned that he is unwilling to commit to their causes.

The industrial relations chief is the administration’s point person on labor issues: The department oversees workers’ compensation plans, the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, apprenticeship programs, wage laws and other employee regulations.

“I can think of no one more qualified than Steve Smith to head the Department of Industrial Relations,” Davis said in a statement. “He understands the importance of worker safety and has spent a career fighting to ensure that working conditions for California’s working men and women are just and that they are fairly compensated.”

Smith, 44, worked as a lobbyist for the California State Employees Assn. for nine years. He also served as political director of the state Democratic Party and worked with Davis in the lieutenant governor’s office as well as in this year’s gubernatorial campaign.

Smith’s appointment is especially good news for the California State Employees Assn. Its 88,000 members have gone without a pay raise since January 1995.

Some members grew anxious after Davis said in a recent news conference that another pay raise was not a certainty, because state economists have forecast a $1-billion shortfall in the upcoming year.

At one point, some labor activists suggested that the union picket the governor’s inauguration to rally for raises.

“There were discussions about a lot of ways to make sure we get Gray Davis’ attention,” said Drew Mendelson, spokesman for the employees association. He added: “Steve Smith is an excellent sign to us of the high priority that the incoming governor places on organized labor.”

In a statement, Smith said he will “advance opportunities for California’s working men and women and ensure that we enact and enforce policies that will keep them safe.”

Davis tapped Maria Contreras-Sweet to lead the massive Department of Business, Transportation and Housing. Sweet, 42, has been a rising star in government, corporate and political posts.

She was the first female vice president at Westinghouse. At age 30, she was an executive at 7-Up in Los Angeles and served on the Board of Directors of Blue Cross of California, the state’s largest health insurance company.

Sweet also initiated several political and business ventures on her own. She is a founding president of the nonprofit group HOPE--Hispanas Organized for Political Equality. She is president of Contreras-Sweet Co., an international consulting firm to Fortune 500 companies.

In 1991, she joined the Federal Glass Ceiling Commission, a bipartisan task force charged with studying the advancement of women and minorities in business.

“Having worked in large and medium-sized companies and started my own business, I understand the challenges businesses face each day,” Sweet said in a statement released Monday. “I look forward to working with Gov.-elect Davis to build a bridge between business and government.”