Union set to rally behind Reilly bid

One of the Northeast's most politically aggressive unions is scheduled to endorse Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly in his bid for the Democratic nomination for governor, a major boost that could produce an army of foot soldiers and $1 million or more in ads and political help.

New York-based Service Employees International Union Local 1199, which is readying for a major organizing battle in Massachusetts, will be taking its first major step into Bay State politics, a move that is sure to send shivers down the backs of hospital executives who are resisting labor's attempts to unionize healthcare workers. The announcement is expected to take place at a hotel in Braintree this afternoon, a union official said.

In betting on Reilly's winning the governor's race, the labor union, which represents 12,000 workers in Massachusetts and 275,000 nationally, is laying the groundwork to become a significant political player in the state. Last year, the union put resources into Mayor Thomas M. Menino's election campaign, buying radio advertisements and getting voters to the polls on Election Day.

''This is a highly influential union with significant resources," Philip W. Johnston, the Democratic Party chairman, said of the giant healthcare union. ''This is quite significant."

Menino, a Reilly supporter, said the endorsement is a political coup. ''This is very important," he said. ''They know how to organize and get their vote out and get the message across. When you think of Local 1199, it is one of the union endorsements you really want to get."

Local 1199, which has long been identified with liberal causes dating to the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War resistance, has used its resources to carry on phone banks, street operations, and fund-raising to flex its political muscle in New York and in Maryland in recent years. It has also occasionally backed Republicans, including Governor George E. Pataki of New York and the state's Republican Senate leadership.

Its president, Dennis Rivera, said the union, which recently merged with a Massachusetts local, relied on the local leadership in its endorsement decision. The 40-member executive committee interviewed Reilly and Democratic candidate Deval L. Patrick this past winter, choosing Reilly after impressing union members with his understanding of healthcare issues and policy.

''They are not interested in attacking Patrick," Rivera said of the committee's decision, ''but basically they feel that they are comfortable that he did not have enough knowledge of the healthcare system and our concerns. Reilly was superior. . . . To be honest, Patrick did not make such an impression with our members. It was unanimous for Tom."

The endorsement is not expected to have much of an effect on the Democratic Party Convention's endorsement June 3, where Patrick is expected to win a strong majority of delegate support. But the union will be a big boost to Reilly, who is competing with Patrick's field operations for the Sept. 19 primary. The union said it has not decided what resources it will provide Reilly.

Under state law, the most a union can give directly to a candidate in a calendar year is $15,000. But it can independently conduct an advertising campaign, a direct-mail operation, and a phone bank, and also put paid workers on the street to boost Reilly's candidacy.

In the 2004 presidential election, Rivera's union paid the salaries for 1,000 union members to help the Democratic Party and Senator John F. Kerry's presidential campaign. The union spent about $14 million in that election, according to Jennifer Cunningham, the union's executive vice president.

''Dennis Riviera is a huge player nationally," Johnston said.

The union endorsement for Reilly has been announced at a critical time for the attorney general. He has been fighting to regain his campaign's momentum after several serious political missteps this past winter. Those problems have allowed Patrick to move into a position as a major challenger for the nomination.

A third candidate, Chris Gabrieli, a venture capitalist, has also entered the race, though too late to be considered by the union.

Another big labor endorsement will come in June, after the party convention, when the state AFL-CIO, which says it has 400,000 members, decides which gubernatorial candidate it will endorse for the Democratic primary.