GOP courting Unions

[cmd]

http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2006/05/inside_the_rncs.html


May 04, 2006

Inside The RNC's Union Outreach

RNC chair Ken Mehlman and other top GOP officials used recent meetings with organized labor to urge them to give to GOPers in key '06 races, bolster or begin contributions to the nat'l party cmtes and cease donations to 527s, according to multiple union sources.

A total of 3 meetings were held, in descending order of how friendly the GOPers deemed the unions by a standard of their giving history and what they did in the '04 WH race. WH pol. dir. Sara Taylor attended all three. The 1st pow-wow included the Seafarers, Carpenters and IUOE, all viewed as among the most Republican-friendly organizations in the labor movement. The second included the firefighters, the painters, the iron workers and the laborers. Many of these (most notably the 1st) actively opposed Pres Bush in '04, but all give generously to labor-friendly congressional GOPers. The final meeting included SEIU, UniteHere, the Airline Pilots, the plumbers and the NEA. A GOPer familiar with the meetings did not deny the ranking of the meetings, but noted that all invited had shown at least some measure of GOP support to merit the invite.

Republican strategists have long seen untapped potential in labor unions. But the WH, led by DCoS Karl Rove has generally frowned upon direct outreach. As WH pol. dir, though, Mehlman was always willing to talk to unions and Taylor has similarly kept her door open. Still, only the abjectly neutral unions have had access to key policymakers at 1600 Penn Ave, creating what one sympathetic labor official called a "very narrow friendship."

A GOP official said "Ken's message at the meeting was, 'We're going to hold the House and Senate. There are a lot of foks who you have reasons to support in our party. And because Republicans have been supportive on your issues, we want you to support the party.'" The GOPers and unions assessed races in which their interest coincided. These included OH's marquee Senate contest, which has split labor. (The AFL-CIO and Change to Win efforts will generally help Democrats, while several individual unions, like the firefighters, will marshal support for Sen. Mike DeWine). Another was the re-election of embattled Rep. Bob Ney. A member of the transportation cmte, Ney retains the loyalty of many building trade unions. Others: Sen. Lincoln Chafee (RI) and Rep's Mike Fitzpatrick (PA), Jim Gerlach (PA) and Rob Simmons (CT).
more.......