As the mayoral race reaches its final stretch, labor unions, a
key voting bloc, are sending mixed messages to Angeleno voters and
the two candidates vying to be mayor.
Though the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, a powerful
labor organization representing nearly 350 locals, has endorsed
incumbent Mayor Jim Hahn, the rank-and-file union members who
compose the influential labor bloc are showing strong support for
heady challenger L.A. City Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa.
According to a Los Angeles Times exit poll, only 27 percent of
union members voted for Hahn in the primary election, whereas 35
percent cast their ballots in favor of the challenger.
Many accredit the councilman’s edge within the blue collar
constituency to his longtime commitment to workers and experience
as a teachers’ union labor organizer.
“He’s come out with us and helped us write letters,
talked to the workers, encouraged us to hold community forums. For
our union’s members here, Antonio has always fought for us,
and our members see that,” said Lakesha Harrison, president
of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
local 3299, the labor union representing service workers at
UCLA.
Hahn, currently trailing by nearly 20 points in polls, has the
endorsement of both the L.A. County Federation of Labor and the
business-minded Los Angeles Chamber of a Commerce, two entities
often perceived as having opposing goals.
Many believe this endorsement inconsistency is the result of
major unions shying away from opposing any pro-labor incumbents, a
choice that could paint labor as fickle.
“If Hahn were not an incumbent, he would lose the County
Federation of Labor,” said Raphael Sonenshein, a professor of
political science at California State Fullerton and an expert in
city politics. “He would not have the unified support of
labor if he were not the incumbent.”
Though Hahn’s close second place finish over former
assembly speaker Bob Hertzberg ““ who finished third in the
original mayoral election ““ has been accredited to extensive
phone banking efforts on the part of labor prior to the primary,
support from labor leadership has to date been financially lacking
compared to that enjoyed by Villaraigosa during his run for mayor
in 2001, when the L.A. County Federation of Labor threw its support
behind him.
Though some believe that the federation’s support for Hahn
has been reluctant, federation head Miguel Contreras has promised
to bulk up resources devoted toward the Hahn campaign before the
May 17 runoff election.
The runoff election became necessary after no candidate received
the majority vote needed to win the March primary election.
Hahn campaign spokesman Kam Kuwata believes the blue collar
constituency will swing toward Hahn in time for the runoff, as it
did in his first run for the office of mayor in 2001.
“There are people in unions who are for Antonio, and
they’re going to say things, but when you have a mayor who
has done as much for labor as Jim Hahn, you can say what you want
to, but the fact is that he has stood up side by side with
labor,” Kuwata said.
Villaraigosa shone the brightest in the eyes of many labor
supporters when he played a major role in diffusing a month-long
labor dispute between the Metropolitan Transit Authority and
striking bus mechanics and drivers.
“Within a day and a half (of Villaraigosa joining
negotiations) the strike was history. Antonio is a doer, and the
unions trust him and they believe in him,” said Neil Silver,
president of Transport Workers’ Union of Los Angeles County,
which represented the striking bus workers.
Regardless of which candidate they’re rooting for, most
union members acknowledge that both candidates have proven valuable
to labor-leaning voters.
“I like Hahn, but I like Antonio better,” Silver
said.
Given that both candidates are perceived as prolabor, unions are
expected to maintain good relations with city hall regardless of
who ends up in the mayor’s office.
“Labor is very adaptable. Whichever candidate that won
between the two would have the support of labor. Labor has a way of
always getting back to the table,” Sonenshein said.