New labor alliance looks to help Gephardt

More than a dozen national labor unions supporting Representative Richard A. Gephardt announced yesterday they are banding together to form a group that will promote his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.

At a news conference in Washington, the labor leaders said the new group, called the Alliance for Economic Justice, will seek special status under the Internal Revenue Service code to spend union money to communicate with members and promote key labor issues and political candidates.

Donald J. Kaniewski, legislative and political director of the Laborers' International Union, said later the group will support Gephardt's candidacy in the short term but also has a long-term agenda of emphasizing job preservation, foreign trade safeguards, and affordable health care.

Under the IRS code section 501c5, such organizations may spend money to communicate with its membership but not to advertise to the general public.

"It will allow us to cross-pollinate," Kaniewski said. "We will be able to do phone banks and mailings on issues before Congress or on behalf of political candidates."

Gephardt, a 14-term congressman from Missouri, has been endorsed by unions representing more than a third of the 13.2 million members of the AFL-CIO, but the AFL-CIO has put off consideration of a federation endorsement in the presidential race.

Kaniewski said the new organization is "not in competition" with the umbrella group, and AFL-CIO spokeswoman Lane Windham said the federation is "supporting their work" on labor issues.

Among the unions represented at the news conference was the Air Line Pilots Association, which has not made a formal endorsement. But Paul Hallisay, government affairs director for the 66,000-member union, said there is "a strong likelihood" it will throw its support behind Gephardt. The pilots union has more than 1,200 members in New Hampshire, the first primary state, Hallisay said.