Clinton Meets Labor to Cement Ties, Mend Fences

President Clinton took time Wednesday to court organized labor in an effort to win union support--and in some cases soften labor’s opposition--on key social and economic initiatives that the White House has labeled a top priority.

Leaving behind a capital preoccupied with personal scandals and foreign policy problems, Clinton flew here to address the AFL-CIO’s executive council, which is scheduled to meet today to draft plans for the organization’s political agenda for the coming year.

The president’s appearance was intentionally low-key. His speech to about 1,000 union activists, delivered in a folksy style, recounted all the social initiatives his administration has proposed, from boosting the minimum wage to broadening medical benefits. He also claimed credit for the current economic boom.

In one certain crowd-pleaser, he also threatened to veto Republican-sponsored legislation that would enable companies to fire--or refuse to hire--workers who have been active as union organizers. Although the measure is given little prospect of passage, it is a hot-button issue for labor.

Clinton’s appearance marked another in a series of attempts to shore up the administration’s relations with labor, which were strained last autumn by union opposition to his proposed “fast-track” trade legislation, one of his top legislative priorities.

Administration officials also want labor leaders to remain neutral on--rather than actively oppose--a White House proposal to increase the resources of the International Monetary Fund, which Clinton regards as essential for dealing with the Asian financial crisis.

Labor has been skeptical about supporting the IMF, contending that the 182-nation organization does not do enough to require countries to provide protection for their workers. So far the unions have remained neutral on the bill, which is encountering opposition in both houses of Congress.

The president also asked for labor’s support in reversing GOP efforts to block money for his proposals to finance the hiring of more teachers, reduce the average size of classes and build more elementary and high schools in the United States.

“There are some troubling signals coming out of Washington that the Republican [congressional] budget will not include” such provisions, he told the union leaders.

Clinton is not the only national political figure to put in an appearance at this week’s meeting. Vice President Al Gore is slated to speak here today, and House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.), his likely rival for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2000, was here earlier this week.

Despite labor’s strong ties to the Democratic Party, the administration’s relationship with unions has been decidedly mixed. Labor leaders were exultant when Clinton helped force a settlement in the strike against United Parcel Service last summer, but they bitterly opposed his fast-track trade bill.

Clinton conspicuously avoided mentioning any of the administration’s differences with labor, talking instead about the need to broaden education and health benefits and to increase worker training programs to prepare the work force for the 21st century.