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Labor's feeling chill on Davis Those options could include supporting a replacement candidate on the Oct. 7 ballot, which will have 135 names. "I have to say that I don't know what our message is yet," Art Pulaski, executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation, said Monday night at the Los Angeles County federation's annual delegates' barbecue. "We're going to have a convention in two weeks, and our members will democratically decide what we do about that. It's an open question." Pulaski said delegates will vote "on the question of what position we take on the election." Miguel Contreras, executive secretary of the 800,000-member Los Angeles federation, said labor officials are awaiting results of their latest polling. "But if the polling comes back and says (Davis) is hopeless, then we have to figure out if our resources would be best spent promoting a candidate," Contreras said. As the Democratic governor's poll numbers have plunged to record lows, the state federation has based its opposition to the recall on issues dear to union members and championed by Davis -- such as overtime pay and compensation for injured workers. Union officials contend recall leaders are seeking to dismantle such protections. Conspicuously missing in the 2 million-member federation's "No On Recall" campaign are references to the unpopular Davis. The unions did urge Democratic gubernatorial aspirants to stick with the governor, fearing a crowded field would pave the way for a Republican victory. But last week Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante broke party ranks and offered himself up as a candidate with a mixed message: Oppose the recall, but vote for him just in case Davis falls. Union officials have refrained from backing a fallback candidate, but the special convention to be held in Manhattan Beach reflects their high anxiety. Contreras said labor hopes to beat back the recall and prolong Davis' career. "(But) given that both are heavy lifts -- and can be considered long shots -- are our resources best spent in defeating the recall and stopping the celebrity candidacy of (Arnold) Schwarzenegger?" he said. "That's a question for us." Labor's support is seen as critical to Davis' survival. "You don't win elections in Los Angeles without Miguel Contreras," Davis' wife, Sharon, said at the Los Angeles barbecue. "If labor bolts on (Davis), he's dead meat," said Barbara O'Connor, director of the Institute for the Study of Politics and the Media at California State University, Sacramento. Labor was the largest donor to Davis' re-election campaign last year, for which he raised a total of $78 million. The governor is reportedly seeking an additional $10 million from labor for the recall campaign. O'Connor said the campaign will also rely heavily on "organized constituents" to turn out their voters and that a mixed message could impede that effort. "It's very difficult, rhetorically, to say, 'We're really adamantly against this recall, but if you feel you must vote against us, we need to be prepared,' " O'Connor said. If union officials shift to a backup candidate, O'Connor said, "I would view that as a tacit admission that the governor had gone down (in the polls), and then it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy." Roger Salazar, a Davis campaign spokesman, said the governor is more concerned with "getting voters to vote 'no' on the recall."
"The governor has always enjoyed very strong support from workers," Salazar said. "I think he has demonstrated throughout his tenure as governor that he is dedicated to ensuring that workers have adequate protection and that, more than anything else, is why labor continues to
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