06.28.2004

Labor Union Co-Endorses Hopefuls For Senate Seat

By BETH REINARD, The Miami Herald

About 200 labor leaders attended the Florida AFL-CIO convention in Orlando to lobby for their preferred successor to retiring Sen. Bob Graham -- and chose two.

Florida labor leaders withheld exclusive bragging rights from Congressman Peter Deutsch and former state education commissioner Betty Castor, deciding Sunday to co-endorse the Democratic rivals for the U.S. Senate.

With Castor supported by most public school teachers and Deutsch backed by various teamsters, plumbers and other workers around the state, neither could muster the two-thirds super-majority needed to capture the AFL-CIO endorsement.

Unions are not as potent in Florida as they are in states without right-to-work laws but they remain a coveted voting bloc in Democratic primaries. The AFL-CIO represents about 500,000 members and retirees in Florida.

''In the past there have been some pretty divisive battles about endorsements, so a decision was made to stand unified and keep our eye on the prize, which is of course the White House,'' said AFL-CIO spokesman Rich Templin. ``It dilutes the strength of the endorsement in the primary, but we're going to make sure one of these two is on the ticket.''

PENELAS IGNORED

The labor organization ignored the other main Democratic contender, Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas, largely because of violent confrontations between police and union protesters in Miami during last year's Free Trade Area of the Americas summit. While Penelas was not expected to win AFL-CIO support, the co-endorsement of his opponents reinforces his third-place standing in polls.

A joint endorsement allows labor groups to contribute and volunteer for either Deutsch or Castor. Union members are the worker bees in many Democratic campaigns.

''They get fired up and hit the streets and lick the envelopes and make the phone calls,'' Templin said.

Deutsch and Castor can point to strong records on labor issues. Deutsch voted against the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993 despite pressure from then-President Clinton. Castor worked closely with the teachers union as state education commissioner.

Both candidates heralded the endorsement.

''It's a statement of how I've fought for working families for 22 years,'' Deutsch said.

''It represents an endorsement from working people who understand the importance of jobs and affordable health care, which are issues I am stressing in my campaign,'' Castor said.

Penelas's campaign says he too boasts a pro-labor record. He supported a county living-wage law that requires higher pay than the federal minimum wage, and he spearheaded a constitutional amendment to require free prekindergarten.

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