Unions seek to influence party’s pick

National labor unions, traditional allies of the Democratic Party, are planning to play a significant role in the 2008 Republican presidential primary.

As a result, next year could be the first time that several major unions endorse a Republican candidate in a presidential primary.

{mosads}Last week, the International Association of Machinists, which has nearly 700,000 members, endorsed former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in the Republican primary and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) in the Democratic contest.  

The International Union of Painters & Allied Trades also plans to endorse a Republican and a Democrat.

Two of the country’s largest unions, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the National Education Association (NEA) also are contemplating making endorsements in each party’s primary. Even if they don’t, the SEIU and the NEA will seek to influence the outcome of GOP primaries, or, at least, pressure the candidates to make their policy platforms more “worker-friendly.”

“Stopping at the SEIU and getting your ticket punched is not the normal thought process for Republican campaign managers,” said Skip Roberts, the assistant director of government affairs at SEIU. “For almost two years we have been empowering and mobilizing our Republican members.”

Nationwide, the SEIU has 1.9 million members. Its membership includes more than 300,000 Republicans, according to union officials.

“We’re trying to make sure that our Republican members are not ignored by the presidential campaigns,” Roberts said.

Compared to past election cycles, Roberts said, “We’re much further along in making sure our Republican members are trained and backed by the union to make their party a more family-friendly party.”

The growing political activity of Republican union members is both tempting and risky for Republican presidential candidates.

On one hand, union support can be a valuable asset. Union members are known for their ability to organize and work hard to help candidates on Election Day. Extra volunteers working at phone banks and walking from door to door could make a crucial difference in caucuses and primaries decided by a few thousand votes.

But accepting help from unions could also open Republican candidates to criticism from the conservative ranks of their party.

“They know they’ll be skewered by right-wing blogs and the Club for Growth,” Roberts said, referring to a conservativegroup that has been known to pay for television ads attacking centrist Republicans.

Of the Republican presidential candidates, Huckabee has been most willing to embrace potential union support. It may be an easier decision for Huckabee than other Republicans because the Club for Growth has already declared war against his candidacy, criticizing him for his record on taxes while governor.

The NEA, a union with 3.2 million members — an estimated 1 million of whom are Republican — also is working to have an influence on the GOP primaries.

“We feel we can have an impact on the Republican Party,” said Randall Moody, chief lobbyist at the NEA.

The union has drawn attention from two Republican front-runners.

At the beginning of August, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Mike DuHaime, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s campaign manager, attended a reception the NEA held in Minneapolis for politically active Republicans in its union, Moody said.

Huckabee, who finished second in the Iowa state Republican straw poll last month, spoke to about 9,000 delegates at the NEA’s annual meeting this summer. NEA officials have also met with Rep. Duncan Hunter (Calif.), another Republican White House hopeful.

Moody said the NEA has strong affiliates in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

“We do have substantial numbers of Republican members in those states,” Moody said. “Our members are community leaders, and a lot of people in their communities look to them for leadership. Any candidate, from school board to president, should seek the support of our members because of it.”

Huckabee has met with Republican members of the SEIU in New Hampshire, said Lee Quandt, a union member and state representative from Exeter who describes himself as a conservative Republican.

“He’s the only Republican candidate in New Hampshire to have the courage to sit down with union members, and it went really well,” Quandt said. “They took a liking to him.”

Quandt said other Republican candidates would be smart to meet with the SEIU because it represents about 10,000 Republican workers in the state.

 “Nixon had union support and so did Reagan,” Quandt said.

The International Union of Painters & Allied Trades has 190,000 members, including retirees, and has a significant presence in Iowa and Nevada, two early-caucus states, the union’s director of government affairs, Tim Stricker, said. Stricker estimated that Republicans make up between 30 and 40 percent of the union’s membership.

Stricker said leading Republican candidates have reached out to his union, which plans to endorse in both the Republican and Democratic primaries.

“Giuliani’s people have reached out to us and we’ve had some under-the-radar inquiries from Senator [John] McCain’s (R-Ariz.) campaign,” Stricker said. “I expect to meet with Giuliani’s people in about a month.”

McCain’s campaign spokeswoman, Brooke Buchanan, said her boss is seeking potential union allies in various primary states.

“We are continually reaching out to those folks through our supporters on the ground in early states such as South Carolina, New Hampshire, Iowa and Michigan,” Buchanan said. “Unions have a broad base of organization and support and we appreciate the support that has been given to the senator and look forward to working with them as we move forward in this campaign.”

Other traditional Democratic allies have made efforts to reach out to Republican candidates in hopes of influencing their policy stances. But Republicans appear less receptive to their entreaties.

The political director of NARAL Pro Choice America, Beth Shipp, said her group has placed a few calls to the Giuliani campaign but despite Giuliani’s record in support of abortion rights, his campaign has responded cautiously.

“I think they’re nervous because they’re running in a Republican primary,” Shipp said.

The New Hampshire and South Carolina affiliates of the League of Conservation Voters have met with several Republican campaigns, said Gene Karpinski, president of the national environmental group.