February 23, 2008

Powerful Union May Be Hedging Its Bets in Albany

By DANNY HAKIM
ALBANY — No group has been more loyal or financially helpful to state Republicans
than the powerful hospital workers’ union, 1199 S.E.I.U. United Healthcare Workers
East.

In recent years, the union, which was once a favorite of the Rev. Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr., has struck an unlikely but fruitful alliance with the Senate
majority leader, Joseph L. Bruno, pouring millions of dollars into the Senate
Republican war chest to help the party retain its control.

In turn, Mr. Bruno has defended 1199 against cuts sought by Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a
Democrat.

But recent campaign finance filings raise an intriguing question: Is the

politically astute union now quietly hedging its bets?

In recent weeks, 1199 has been shoveling money into the Working Families Party, a
labor-backed organization that has been mobilizing support for the Democratic
candidate in a crucial State Senate special election in upstate New York on
Tuesday. At the same time, the union has not contributed to the central campaign
account maintained by Mr. Bruno’s Senate Republican operation in about six months.

Any signs of cracks in the alliance between 1199 and Mr. Bruno would set off
tremors in Albany, where the governor and Mr. Bruno are waging a fierce battle for
control of the Senate; Republicans currently have a two-seat majority, but all
legislative seats are up for election in November. Republicans have their work cut
out for them in a state that is continuing to lean Democratic.

The battleground is the 48th Senate District, which stretches across three
counties along Lake Ontario. In December, State Senator James W. Wright, a
Republican, said he was resigning. While 1199 endorsed the Republican candidate,
Assemblyman William A. Barclay, at the urging of Mr. Bruno, the union has kept an
uncharacteristically low profile in the race and has not contributed to Mr.
Barclay’s campaign.

At the same time, 1199 has poured $257,000 into the Working Families Party this
year, nearly three times what they gave to the party in all of last year and more
than in any year since 2003, according to state campaign finance records. In 2006
and 2007 combined, 1199 gave about $150,000 to the party, records show.

The Working Families Party has taken a leading role on the ground for the
Democratic candidate in the race, Assemblyman Darrel J. Aubertine, and in
providing money for his campaign.

“This isn’t a token, tentative contribution,” said Russ Haven, the legislative
director of the New York Public Interest Research Group. “It could represent the
margin of victory in a short-track winter contest in the north country that will
turn on which side will get their voters to the polls.”

Some state Democratic officials, speaking privately because they did not want to
ruffle improving relations with the union, said they were aware of the money
provided by 1199 and attributed it to a deliberate shift in strategy by 1199;
others said they had no knowledge of it.

Christine Anderson, a spokeswoman for the governor, declined to comment.

People on both sides of the aisle say there is a real possibility that Democrats
will take back the Senate this fall for the first time in more than four decades.
Senator Serphin R. Maltese, a Queens Republican, is facing what many observers see
as his most formidable challenge in years in a district that is overwhelmingly
Democratic. Beyond that, Democrats are mounting credible challenges in as many as
half a dozen other races and the governor has assembled a formidable fund-raising
organization to rival that of the Senate Republicans.

Patrick Gaspard, the recently named executive vice president for politics and
legislation at 1199, denied that there was any effort to channel support to Mr.
Aubertine, which would essentially be two-timing Mr. Bruno’s political operation.

“Joe Bruno has been a forceful and thoughtful ally on health care issues when
hospitals and nursing homes and home care workers have been threatened,” he said,
adding, “our support for him is as strong as it has ever been.”

He said the contributions reflected a recent change of leadership at 1199 and an

effort to help the Working Families Party expand its operations in other states
and to support their efforts in holding Democratic Congressional seats.

Dan Cantor, the executive director of the Working Families Party, echoed that
assessment.

“I think it reflects the new leadership’s excitement about our grass-roots work
across the state,” he said. He adamantly denied any notion that 1199 was working
through them to help Mr. Aubertine.

But, despite the denials, another trend is clear: 1199 has taken a noticeably
softer tone with the governor. Last year, it led a multimillion-dollar campaign
against Mr. Spitzer’s budget cuts and exchanged hard-hitting television
commercials with the administration, reinforcing its alliance with Mr. Bruno.

This year officials at 1199 have taken a much less aggressive tone — perhaps due
in part to a change in leadership after Dennis Rivera, the longtime head of 1199,
moved up to another job within the union.

John McArdle, a spokesman for Mr. Bruno, said, “The only thing we’re going to say
is they’ve endorsed Will, they’re working to help get him elected, which we will
on Tuesday, and they remain our strongest supporters going forward.”

Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company