Labor’s Clout Set to Help Choose Next L.A. Mayor

Bolstered by recent victories, an increasingly muscular Los Angeles labor movement is poised to play a defining role in the upcoming mayoral election, a move that could sharpen the unions’ influence in city politics.

The powerful Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, an umbrella organization that represents 800,000 workers--175,000 of them registered voters in the city of Los Angeles--will vote today on who will receive its coveted endorsement and the accompanying political ground troops.

The federation’s support has been the subject of fierce behind-the-scenes campaigning between the two of the six major candidates with the strongest labor support: former Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa, a onetime union organizer, and City Atty. James K. Hahn, a longtime labor ally.

In the final days before the vote, Villaraigosa was tantalizingly close to locking up the organization’s backing, which requires support from two-thirds of the 88-member political committee, according to sources in labor and the two campaigns. Hahn, who apparently cannot muster enough votes for an endorsement, is trying to get enough to at least block an endorsement for Villaraigosa.

In a race in which a little more than 100,000 votes on April 10 could propel a candidate into the June 5 runoff, a unified labor movement is likely to be one of the most potent forces. If the federation does not agree on one labor candidate, each local can individually decide whom to back, greatly blunting labor’s potential impact in the race.

Beyond its political standing, labor has other substantial interests in how the mayor’s race plays out. The next mayor not only will play a key role in negotiating city employee contracts, but also will oversee the continuing implementation of Los Angeles’ so-called living wage ordinance, which sets the minimum pay scale for major companies that do business with the city.

Moreover, historically the mayor has played an important role in mediating local labor disputes and has led policy debates such as the question of whether and how broadly to privatize city services.

Amid such intense political and practical tensions, the battle for the endorsement has come down to a tug-of-war between loyalties to Hahn, who has a long relationship with the city’s unions, and Villaraigosa, a former organizer for the teachers union who has consistently championed labor issues.

“We are having to choose the greater of angels and it is very hard,” said Damon Moore, government relations director for the Service Employees International Union, Local 660.

“Jimmy Hahn would be a terrific mayor for working people. On the other hand, Antonio is one of us.”

Others frame the choice as one between the past and the future. The son of immigrants, Villaraigosa connects strongly with labor’s increasingly Latino membership, and some argue that he would be best able to bring the city’s diverse ethnic enclaves together.

But critics note that he is not as well-known as Hahn and trails in the polls. Along with his pro-labor track record, Hahn, who has won citywide elections five times, brings name recognition and, at this point, appears to have a better shot at making the runoff.

His supporters claim that a more pragmatic approach would be to postpone a federation endorsement until the runoff.

Said one labor leader whose local has endorsed Hahn: “Antonio is by far the most progressive and, from the labor perspective, he is our guy. But Jim Hahn is a labor guy as well, and a labor guy who can win.”

Fundamentally, the federation is wrestling with how to use its growing political clout. After several high-profile labor actions and numerous electoral wins, some union leaders say they don’t have to endorse the candidate most likely to win; they can help choose the victor.

In this mind-set, federation head Miguel Contreras has been drumming up support for Villaraigosa during the last several months, arguing that unions had an opportunity to play a key role in the race if they got in early.

‘We should be making winners,” Contreras said, “not choosing winners.”

As they have grown in size and political sophistication, Los Angeles unions have become adept at getting their candidates elected. Rather than simply supplying volunteers and money to campaigns, unions are now shaping their own messages and creating their own campaign materials.

What’s more significant, they have learned to target fellow union members in phone banking and precinct walking, using coveted lists supplied by unions. Members of union households tend to vote at higher-than-average rates, and labor polls have shown they are far more receptive to campaign messages from fellow union members.

And their numbers are significant. Almost a third of the voters who cast ballots for mayor in April 1993 were from union households, and the number of union members in Los Angeles County who voted in the presidential race went up five percentage points from 1992 to 2000.

Targeted labor support was critical for Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) and Jane Harman (D-Rolling Hills), elected to Congress in November.

And newly elected Rep. Hilda L. Solis (D-El Monte) said the backing of the federation gave her the edge that helped defeat 18-year Democratic incumbent Matthew G. “Marty” Martinez in last spring’s primary election.

“When they get involved in something, it’s like, beware, because they are serious,” Solis said. “They will phone, walk in the rain, do everything imaginable to get their voters out.”

During the past four years, similar strategies have stacked the Legislature with labor-friendly politicians, including Villaraigosa. In turn, those lawmakers have come to labor’s aid in high-profile disputes, such as strikes last year by Los Angeles bus drivers and janitors.

After three weeks of marches and rallies, which drew a stream of state and national politicians, janitors won an unprecedented 25% raise in April.

Two months later, striking bus drivers were able to preserve threatened full-time jobs, but only after legislators questioned the finances of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Both cases demonstrated the concrete benefits of political action to a huge pool of potential volunteers.

“Unions should be proud of what they’ve been able to do in the last four years,” Contreras said. “It’s their work that has made this the most important endorsement in Los Angeles.”

Such a statement would have been laughable just a decade ago, given this city’s historic antipathy to unions. But by organizing aggressively and building coalitions with religious and community groups, unions have become an important voice for the city’s large working class.

In the process, Los Angeles has emerged as a model for the national labor movement, which is still struggling to recover from three decades of shrinking relevance.

“Labor can make a critical difference in this race,” said Darry Sragow, a Democratic political consultant. “You’re talking about slicing the mayoral votes in six ways, and you’re not talking about a huge number of votes. As a consequence, a ground campaign can make the difference.”

The federation is already gearing up for a big push in the mayor’s race. Officials are scheduling training camps and lining up pollsters, running checks on phone banks and ordering voter data. If the unions endorse a candidate, the organization is prepared to bombard its members with literature and mobilize hundreds of volunteers.

“Clearly, this is the biggest race that labor has had in decades,” Contreras said.

During the weeks leading up to the big vote, the candidates have done everything but beg for the unions’ backing.

While Hahn hopes to lock up the few key votes needed to block an endorsement for Villaraigosa, supporters of the former Assembly speaker have tried to create a sense of inevitability about his endorsement, hoping that will persuade the undecided locals to come on board.

Much of the backing for Villaraigosa is rooted in his long history in the labor movement.

As an employee of the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission, he was elected president of the American Federation of Government Employees, Local 3230. He went on to work for SEIU Local 1000, doing leadership development with state employees, and then was an organizer with United Teachers-Los Angeles for eight years.

That, coupled with his strong pro-labor record in the Legislature and his frequent appearances on the picket lines, has garnered him a strong following.

And there is especially passionate support for him among unions with largely Latino memberships, many of whom say a victory for Villaraigosa would be a triumph for the immigrant community.

Mike Garcia, head of SEIU Local 1877, said the 11,000 janitors in his union, many of them recent immigrants, would feel “truly inspired” to campaign for Villaraigosa.

“He’s our man,” Garcia said. “He’s the son of an immigrant and he speaks their language. They see him as someone who could be their son.”

However, other unions feel a dedication to Hahn, who has consistently worked with labor leaders during his time in office.

As city attorney, Hahn pushed for a citywide program to ensure that contractors have good labor and safety records, and was a strong backer of the living wage ordinance. He has supported labor agreements that ensure that businesses working on developments such as the proposed expansion of Los Angeles International Airport are unionized.

“I want somebody out front and somebody who makes sure the I’s are getting dotted and the Ts get crossed and he’s been there,” said Julie Butcher, head of SEIU Local 347, which represents 9,000 city employees. “For 25 years, he’s been doing the work.”

In the end, labor leaders agree that both Villaraigosa and Hahn--along with state Controller Kathleen Connell and Rep. Xavier Becerra, two other candidates in the race--would be strong allies if elected mayor.

For many, the biggest sticking point has been choosing the most viable candidate. If the federation’s pick doesn’t make the runoff, then the unions may have depleted their resources for the general election--and there may not even be a labor candidate in the race to back.

“In the end, there are a number of candidates who would be good for unions,” said Bill Luddy, a delegate for carpenters Local 409. “But to be as effective as you possibly can, you get behind somebody and don’t waste resources.”

In many ways, an endorsement today would be as important to labor as it would to the lucky candidate: A win credited to early union support could add to the momentum of the past four years. But a wrong choice, or a bitter split among unions, could slow it down.

“It will absolutely diminish their political potency if they aren’t unified around a candidate,” said Kent Wong, director of the UCLA Center for Labor Research and Education.

Contreras has been through this before. Four years ago, when he was new to the federation’s top job, he lobbied for the organization to endorse incumbent Mayor Richard Riordan over challenger Tom Hayden, then a state senator and longtime labor advocate with strong ties to the United Farm Workers and a personal friend of Cesar Chavez.

Riordan got the needed two-thirds, barely, but opposing unions were so incensed that the organization was backing a Republican businessman that the federation’s executive board reversed itself a week later, deciding instead to remain neutral.

That embarrassing public flap is very much on Contreras’ mind as he tries to navigate the strong feelings and personalities involved in the 360 union locals that make up the federation.

However the political committee votes Monday at the Biltmore Hotel, the decision still has to be approved by delegates of the unions at the end of the month before the endorsement is official.

So, nothing in this process has been left to chance, not even the timing.

Monday’s vote coincides with the start of the national AFL-CIO’s executive council meeting, also being held at the Biltmore Hotel.

If Villaraigosa does get the nod, he could simply walk across the hall for a meeting and photo opportunity with AFL-CIO chief John J. Sweeney and other national labor figures. And Villaraigosa supporters hope it will give them an opportunity to lobby for national labor funds.

Then, Monday evening the federation will host a “town hall meeting” packed with members of unions, religious and civil rights groups, pro-immigrant organizations and Mexican hometown associations. The gathering could be a coronation of sorts for labor’s candidate--if it can decide on one.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

A Political Chorus

Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO

800,000 union members countywide, including 175,000 registered voters in the city of

Los Angeles

*

The federation’s political arm, the Committee on Political Education, votes on its mayoral endorsement today. If two-thirds of the 88-member committee can’t agree on a candidate, the organization votes to go “open,” and each local can choose which candidate it will back.

*

MAJOR UNIONS REPRESENTED

* Service Employees International Union

* Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council (a governing body of 52 locals)

* Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union

* United Food and Commercial Workers

* American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees

* United Teachers-Los Angeles

*

Percentage of voters in the April 1993 mayor’s race:

Union members: 27%

From union households: 32%

*

Percentage of Los Angeles County voters in the 1992 presidential race:

Union members: 20%

From union households: 32%

*

Percentage of Los Angeles County voters in the 2000 presidential race:

Union members: 25%

From union households: 37%

*