Labor May Wait Until Its Candidate Emerges : Sources Say AFL-CIO Could Delay Endorsement in Presidential Race Until After Primaries Begin

With no clear favorite having emerged in the Democratic presidential race, the AFL-CIO is giving serious consideration to delaying endorsement of a candidate until after the New Hampshire primary next February, several well-placed union political operatives said Tuesday.

The AFL-CIO executive council will discuss the endorsement issue at its meeting next Tuesday, according to federation spokesman Rex Hardesty. It is possible that the federation will not endorse any candidate until the Democratic convention next July, several sources said.

A delay could lessen labor’s role in the nominating process compared to 1984. The AFL-CIO endorsed Walter F. Mondale in October, 1983, and was widely credited with helping the former vice president withstand the challenge of his chief rival, Colorado Sen. Gary Hart.

Avoiding ‘Wrong Horse’

But one union political director who declined to be identified said that delaying the endorsement until after the New Hampshire vote would enable unions to “avoid backing the wrong horse” and give union members enough time to get on delegate slates of various candidates in most states.

AFL-CIO President Lane Kirkland lobbied heavily for a pre-primary endorsement in 1983, seeking to avoid the fratricidal warfare that developed among unions during the 1980 primaries when President Jimmy Carter was challenged by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.).

Question of Independence

But the idea is controversial in some Democratic Party circles. Paul G. Kirk Jr., chairman of the Democratic National Committee, has urged the AFL-CIO not to make a pre-primary endorsement, arguing that it could harm the chosen candidate’s appearance of independence. Mondale was frequently attacked as a tool of “special interests” by his rivals as soon as he received the AFL-CIO endorsement.

Unlike four years ago, there is no clear union favorite among the Democratic candidates, noted Loretta Bowen, political director of the Communications Workers of America. She and several other union political activists said there was significant labor support for Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis, Missouri Rep. Richard A. Gephardt, Illinois Senator Paul Simon and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. But she said none of those candidates currently could garner the needed two-thirds majority vote of AFL-CIO unions to win an endorsement.

Similarly, Hardesty said none of the federation’s 89 affiliates “is reporting anything near a two-thirds majority for any one candidate in their ranks.”

A number of labor political operatives think that no clear favorite will emerge for some time and are urging that labor move quickly with alternative tactics in order to maximize its influence in the nominating process.

Several large unions are said to favor a “multi-candidate” strategy whereby union members in various states would be free to sign on as delegates for any of the Democratic candidates in hopes of maximizing the number of labor delegates at the Democratic National Convention next July in Atlanta.

Similar to 1976 Tactic

Such an approach would parallel tactics that organized labor used during the 1976 primaries when there also was a large field. In an attempt to avoid internecine labor warfare, agreements were reached as to which candidate labor would support in particular geographic areas. For example, union members supported Rep. Morris K. Udall (D-Ariz.) in northern Illinois and Carter (the eventual nominee) in southern Illinois during that state’s primary.

“The strategy worked very well,” said one key union source. “Labor had more than 700 delegates at the Democratic convention, more than we had ever had before.”

The persons pushing this approach note that several large states, such as New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois, have early filing deadlines for delegate slates, and that if labor wants strong representation at the Democratic convention, members will have to sign on to delegate slates in several states before the end of the year.

Delay in Convening Board

If the AFL-CIO decides to hold off on an endorsement, Kirkland can call a meeting of the federation’s general board (composed of presidents of all the federation’s affiliates plus the heads of all the state labor federations) at any time and raise the issue again. It normally takes about two weeks to convene such a gathering.

If the federation decided to delay an endorsement until after the New Hampshire primary on Feb. 16, there would barely be time to call such a meeting and make an endorsement before the massive Super Tuesday primaries, where roughly 30% of the delegates will be chosen on March 8.

Henry Weinstein reported from Los Angeles and Robert Shogan from Washington.