COUNTY LABOR UNIONS FACING TOUGH CHOICES.

Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer

After years of racking up one success after another, Los Angeles unions find themselves faced with new political challenges and a reassessment of where they stand as the nation celebrates the Labor Day holiday.

A declining blue-collar work force, an increased reliance on government and service industries for its new members and a disastrous grocery strike have contributed to a troubled and troubling situation for labor.

``As we sit here today in 2004, we face challenges - significant challenges,'' said Miguel Contreras, who is in his eighth year as executive secretary-treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO. The Fed, as its members call it, is an umbrella organization of some 300 unions with more than 800,000 members.

The November elections do not particularly trouble Contreras.

California is considered a solid Democratic state for presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry and, thanks to reapportionment, most legislative races are all but decided.

``What redistricting did was create safe seats for Republicans and Democrats, so we feel fairly confident this year,'' Contreras said.

Where the union faces a political test is in next March's mayoral contest, with Mayor James Hahn seeking his second term against a field that includes others with strong union ties.

``All of the major candidates have been endorsed by us in the past for one office or another,'' Contreras said. ``It presents a potential problem for us.''

In 2001, the labor group supported Antonio Villaraigosa against Hahn. While Villaraigosa lost that race, he went on to win a City Council seat with union backing and has been a strong voice for labor at City Hall.

Councilman Bernard Parks also has received past union support, as have state Sen. Richard Alarcon, D-Van Nuys, and former Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg.

``I don't know what we'll do,'' Contreras said. ``We have a mayor in Jim Hahn who has been very good to labor, even though we didn't endorse him last time. We have Antonio Villaraigosa, who a lot of people feel is our go-to guy at City Hall, and then we have Sen. Alarcon, who is our guy in Sacramento. It will be difficult for us.''

Contreras said he would not be surprised to see the county Fed remain neutral in the election since an endorsement requires a two-thirds vote of its Committee on Political Education.

``I wouldn't be surprised to see individual unions get involved backing one candidate or another, but the county Fed might have to stay out of it,'' Contreras said.

``If it seems appropriate, at some point I will bring everyone together to talk about it. It is more important for me to make sure we have a united labor front rather than be divided by candidates.

``And, whatever happens, we will have to work with whoever is elected.''

Hahn said he is not sure what role the unions will play - but he plans to let union members know he has worked with them on issues from easing utility bill payments for workers on strike to pushing major projects, such as the Los Angeles International Airport modernization.

``The last time, I had some union support, but the other side had most of the major unions,'' Hahn said. ``But I think we have a record I can point to that shows the support I have given the union movement.''

In the 2001 race, Hahn picked up the support of city employee unions.

In his re-election campaign, he already has been endorsed by the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City and continues to have close ties with the Los Angeles Police Protective League and SEIU, Local 347.

Contreras also serves as a Hahn appointee on the Airport Commission and says he has received no calls from the mayor about the election.

``He understands my problem and my predicament,'' Contreras said. ``We have not talked about any endorsement.''

Of greater immediate importance to Contreras, who is 52 and has been in charge of the labor organization since 1996, is making sure the labor movement is able to advance in the face of serious problems.

``There was a time when we had a strong labor movement and good-paying blue-collar jobs in this county,'' Contreras said.

``We had the General Motors plant in Van Nuys. We had thousands of workers at Lockheed in Burbank. We had a Ford plant in Pico Rivera. We even had Bethlehem Steel. All those jobs are gone. What we have to do is work together with what we have left.''

Under Contreras, the county Federation of Labor has been one of the most successful in the country in signing on new members and seeing growth after years of decline.

``Across the country, the national labor movement is looking at Los Angeles as the trendsetter,'' said Kent Wong of the UCLA Labor Center.

``This is an area that is not known as labor friendly, yet it has had some of the highest gains in membership, primarily in the service sector.''

Much of its success has been due to its work in the political arena.

``When you look at the state Legislature, a lot of the major players came from the union movement,'' Wong said.

``Whether it's (Assembly Speaker) Fabian Nuez, who was the political director for the county Fed, or almost the entire Democratic caucus. And, at City Hall, they have Villaraigosa, (Councilman) Martin Ludlow and nearly all the other council members who have received union support.''

What those political successes translate to is legislation that is beneficial to unions - such as banning superstores, increasing the minimum wage or pushing the living-wage requirement.

``Technically, these are not union areas, but they help promote labor issues,'' Wong said.

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who chaired the Metropolitan Transportation Authority during the recent strike by drivers, said he believes unions are more contentious these days.

``It used to be that we could sit down and talk plainly,'' Yaroslavsky said. ``We would open the books and say this is how much we have. Now, it seems there is less willingness to work collaboratively. It is almost as if a strike is expected.''

One strike-lockout situation that hurt all involved this year involved major grocery chains, lasted four and a half months, and affected some 60,000 workers.

``We learned a lot from that,'' Contreras said. ``I'm not sure I'd say it was a strike that shouldn't have happened, but I certainly didn't think it would last as long as it did.

``It hurt everyone. The stores have not recovered all their business and we have workers that will need years to overcome the lost wages.''

Contreras argues the unions were forced into the work action because of demands from Wall Street on the stores to cut their costs.

``But it turns out the only ones who benefited from this were the stores that weren't struck.'' Contreras said. ``No one else gained from it.''

Jack Kyser, chief economist at the Economic Development Corp., however, said he believes the union movement was the major loser.

``The unions got their heads handed to them on a platter,'' Kyser said. ``And the problem isn't just for the workers. It's for the overall economy.

``Los Angeles is not operating in a bubble. We have a tumultuous world economy, and businesses are going to go where their costs are the cheapest.''

Contreras said he recognizes the changing environment and is taking steps to address it. One step is to hold the first conference of local unions on Sept. 30 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

``One of the lessons we've learned is that we have to join forces if we are going to be successful,'' Contreras said. ``One union alone isn't enough.''

During both the grocery strike and the work action by the MTA bus drivers, Contreras said, the union found itself on the defensive in getting its message out.

``They were able to take out ads, sometimes at $60,000 a day, to get their message out,'' Contreras said. ``We did one mailing as part of the grocery strike and that cost us $150,000. We have to find a way to be able to compete with that.''

And, he said, the union has to try to make its case that it is working to improve the standard of living for workers.

``This is very much a tale of two cities,'' Contreras said. ``Los Angeles has more millionaires and billionaires than any other part of the country. It also is the poverty capital of the nation. We need to get people to understand we are all in the same boat and need to be rowing in the same direction.''

Rick Orlov, [phone]

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com

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(color) Miguel Contreras is head of the County Federation of Labor, a group of some 300 unions with more than 800,000 members.

David Sprague/Staff Photographer