Lansing mayor gets cold shoulder from organized labor

Lansing Mayor Virgil Bernero and Rev. Jesse Jackson during the "Save the American Dream" rally on Monday at the Capitol. (Photo by Todd A. Heywood/Michigan Messenger)

LANSING — While Lansing Mayor Virgil Bernero stood on the steps of the Capitol Monday fighting to save the American dream as part of a rally headlined by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, many local unions and union officials were sending a message of their own.

“We did opt not to participate in it. We support the message. Our issue is with the messenger with Virg Bernero,” said Ray Michaels of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. “He is no friend of organized labor as far as my union is concerned.”

Michaels also said his union, and many others, are worried that the mayor is spending too much time talking about national issues “he can’t do anything about,” while not doing anything “in his own town where he can have real impact.”

IBEW was not alone in missing Monday’s event. Bricklayers Local 9, Lansing Building Trades, Teamsters 580 and others were also not present. The United Auto Workers local which represents city employees was also absent from the event.

“Officially we did not participate. As far as I know we are just out of town. Unless I missed a memo,” said UAW local president Scott Dedic. Asked if the UAW supported Bernero, Dedic responded: “Let’s just say we have a relationship with the mayor and his administration and we have a process in place. I’m not going to make a comment any further.”

Representatives from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and Bricklayers Local 9 did not return calls seeking comment.

Bernero spokesman Randy Hannan said the concerns expressed by Michaels were “nonsense.”

“What the mayor is fighting for nationally is the working people,” he said while Bernero appeared on CNBC to discuss the General Motors bankruptcy. “It sounds mostly like sour grapes.”

Hannan then rattled off a list of unions that did attend the rally — UAW, AFSCME, MEA, and the Steel Workers. He noted they came from around the state, and “some from right here in Lansing.”

Hannan, however, would not discuss the importance of organized labor in the mayor’s re-election fight against Lansing City Council member Carol Wood, who has been racking up union endorsements — from the Bricklayers Local 9, to Lansing Building Trades, to IBEW Local 665. And Michigan Messenger has confirmed that Wood plans to announce on Wednesday that Teamsters Local 580 is endorsing her as well.

With the number of unions endorsing Wood increasing, Bernero could potentially lose an endorsement from the Lansing Labor Council, which could choose not to endorse either candidate or choose to support Wood. The council will make its decision public on Wednesday.

The Teamsters endorsement comes after an Oct. 9, 2008, ruling by the Michigan Labor Relations Board that the Bernero administration had engaged in unfair labor practices while dealing with the Teamsters local.

Wood herself would not confirm the Teamster’s endorsement, saying only: “That’s why we’re having this special event.”

Three sources confirmed the endorsement, two of those sources were union officials and one source was close to Wood’s campaign.

Hannan, the mayor’s spokesman, dismissed the move by organized labor to back Wood, saying the ultimate voice that matters is that of the voters.

“What’s essential is the voters of the city,” said Hannan, noting that somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 registered voters will vote in the upcoming elections. “Those are the ones that matter.”

Organized labor “is extremely important as far as understanding this is a labor town,” said Wood. She noted the unions have been essential in “shaping” the city.

A union endorsement means not only money for campaign coffers, but it also means feet on the streets. Labor organizes and mobilizes its base to do phone bank outreach and door-to-door campaigning for their endorsed candidates. This allows a candidate to reach more voters.