Bustamove: Part of the problem, not the solution.
Posted on 08/14/2003 9:45:40 PM PDT by SierraWasp
Labor's feeling chill on Davis
Leaders may back replacement if governor's chances look dim.
By Aurelio Rojas -- Bee Staff Writer - (Published August 14, 2003)
Labor leaders who have been Gov. Gray Davis' staunchest allies are having reservations about his ability to survive a recall election and will consider their options at an Aug. 26 convention that could decide his fate.
Those options could include supporting a replacement candidate on the Oct. 7 ballot, which will have 135 names.
"I have to say that I don't know what our message is yet," Art Pulaski, executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation, said Monday night at the Los Angeles County federation's annual delegates' barbecue.
"We're going to have a convention in two weeks, and our members will democratically decide what we do about that. It's an open question."
Pulaski said delegates will vote "on the question of what position we take on the election."
Miguel Contreras, executive secretary of the 800,000-member Los Angeles federation, said labor officials are awaiting results of their latest polling.
"But if the polling comes back and says (Davis) is hopeless, then we have to figure out if our resources would be best spent promoting a candidate," Contreras said.
As the Democratic governor's poll numbers have plunged to record lows, the state federation has based its opposition to the recall on issues dear to union members and championed by Davis -- such as overtime pay and compensation for injured workers.
Union officials contend recall leaders are seeking to dismantle such protections. Conspicuously missing in the 2 million-member federation's "No On Recall" campaign are references to the unpopular Davis.
The unions did urge Democratic gubernatorial aspirants to stick with the governor, fearing a crowded field would pave the way for a Republican victory.
But last week Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante broke party ranks and offered himself up as a candidate with a mixed message: Oppose the recall, but vote for him just in case Davis falls.
Union officials have refrained from backing a fallback candidate, but the special convention to be held in Manhattan Beach reflects their high anxiety.
Contreras said labor hopes to beat back the recall and prolong Davis' career.
"(But) given that both are heavy lifts -- and can be considered long shots -- are our resources best spent in defeating the recall and stopping the celebrity candidacy of (Arnold) Schwarzenegger?" he said. "That's a question for us."
Labor's support is seen as critical to Davis' survival.
"You don't win elections in Los Angeles without Miguel Contreras," Davis' wife, Sharon, said at the Los Angeles barbecue.
"If labor bolts on (Davis), he's dead meat," said Barbara O'Connor, director of the Institute for the Study of Politics and the Media at California State University, Sacramento.
Labor was the largest donor to Davis' re-election campaign last year, for which he raised a total of $78 million. The governor is reportedly seeking an additional $10 million from labor for the recall campaign.
O'Connor said the campaign will also rely heavily on "organized constituents" to turn out their voters and that a mixed message could impede that effort.
"It's very difficult, rhetorically, to say, 'We're really adamantly against this recall, but if you feel you must vote against us, we need to be prepared,' " O'Connor said.
If union officials shift to a backup candidate, O'Connor said, "I would view that as a tacit admission that the governor had gone down (in the polls), and then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy."
Roger Salazar, a Davis campaign spokesman, said the governor is more concerned with "getting voters to vote 'no' on the recall."
"The governor has always enjoyed very strong support from workers," Salazar said. "I think he has demonstrated throughout his tenure as governor that he is dedicated to ensuring that workers have adequate protection and that, more than anything else, is why labor continues to support the governor."
But can labor afford to maintain its support? Contreras said among the questions cash-strapped union officials will ponder at their convention is, "How much resources are we going to have?"
During a conference call Wednesday with reporters, Pulaski said the California Labor Federation is prepared to spend more than $4 million on campaign materials and manpower to defeat the recall.
But like the 335,000-member California Teachers Association, the federation has declined so far to commit money directly to Davis' campaign.
After unveiling the Stand for California coalition's anti-recall campaign plan, Pulaski said he did not mention the governor by name because the recall "is not about the governor."
"We believe it's about the people who from the beginning have been behind the recall, who financed the recall, which would never have happened if it really had been a populist grass-roots movement," Pulaski said.
Pulaski blamed anti-labor proponents for the election and defended the governor's record. "He signed into law a number of bills that we found important -- a number of things that the previous governor, Pete Wilson, had really stripped away from workers," Pulaski said.
Wilson is co-chairman of Schwarzenegger's campaign, and Pulaski provided a glimpse of labor's anti-Schwarzenegger strategy by pointing out their relationship.
"(Wilson) now seems to be vigorously behind a candidate in this recall," he said, noting that several of Wilson's former aides are also working for Schwarzenegger.
The Stand for California coalition includes the California NAACP, the California Alliance of Retired Americans and the California chapter of the National Organization for Women.
Among the other members are the Consumer Attorneys of California, Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, and the Sierra Club of California.
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About the Writer ---------------------------
The Bee's Aurelio Rojas can be reached at (916) 326-5539 or arojas@sacbee.com.
Until a real Republican stands out enough to get conservative grass-root Republican support.
Bustamove: Part of the problem, not the solution.
calgov2002:
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So... Come 10-7-2003... Guess what's gonna happen to Davis? He's gonna git his coaxial cable cut!!!
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