Culinary union coy about choice

The Culinary union, whose choice of a presidential candidate has the potential to single-handedly determine the outcome of the Nevada Democratic caucus, will wait until the last minute to play its powerful card.

The union's parent organization, UNITE HERE, announced Wednesday that it won't endorse a candidate until "early January," probably after the first nominating contest, the Jan. 3 Iowa caucus.

That means the Iowa results can be part of the calculations the famously canny Strip workers union makes as it determines its choice. With 60,000 members working in hotels and laundries, Culinary Local 226 is the largest local of UNITE HERE, an international union of textile and hotel workers, and by far the biggest union in the state.

Culinary's political director, Pilar Weiss, said the union definitely will endorse a candidate in the Jan. 19 caucuses. She wouldn't say whether "early January" meant after Iowa, but she dryly noted that there are only two days in the month before Jan. 3. The union previously said it would endorse in December.

Weiss said Culinary simply needs time to focus on the presidential race after months of devoting its attention to contract negotiations. After months of sometimes contentious talks with its biggest employers, most of the union's contracts are settled, with the exception of five properties.

"We were very, very distracted," she said. "While other people in other parts of the country were just thinking about who they were going to pick, for nine months ... our members were focused on whether or not they were going to be on strike."

Culinary's secretary-treasurer, D. Taylor, is the international union's vice president, while one of the international's two presidents, John Wilhelm, is a former Culinary leader.

Wednesday's UNITE HERE announcement included the news that a large Midwest bloc of the union, which includes Iowa, will support John Edwards. The Chicago and Midwest Regional Joint Board plans to go to work for the former North Carolina senator immediately.

"The international is not ready to make an endorsement yet," UNITE HERE spokeswoman Amanda Cooper said. "However, in the meantime, the joint board was saying, 'Look, we don't have this kind of time, and our members are extremely anxious to support John Edwards in Iowa.' "

Other union locals haven't been released to make independent endorsements. UNITE HERE's early January decision will cover the entire international, she said.

In Nevada, it's clear how coveted Culinary's blessing is: enough to keep the likes of Edwards, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton coming back again and again. All the major Democratic candidates have met with the union and its members, some of them several times, both publicly and privately.

"Our goal has been to get our members really engaged and participating, and to help elect the winner," Weiss said. "We like to think that we would help make a difference, that we would be significant."

Weiss said that the candidates had "all spoken to our issues" and that the endorsement would be made based on a consensus among union members. "We always want to pick a winner. It's Nevada."

Culinary's power in the caucuses is enhanced by a provision, unique to Nevada Democrats, that allows workers to caucus at locations on the Strip rather than their home precincts. Weiss said that was necessary in Las Vegas' 24-hour economy to ensure working people get the representation they deserve at the caucus, which takes place midday on a Saturday.

Weiss said the Strip caucuses won't unfairly advantage Culinary, because they will be open to non-Culinary workers such as gardeners, dealers, taxi drivers and "the hardworking women in the strip clubs along Industrial Road."

Speculation has been, and continues to be, rampant about whom Culinary will pick and what effect its endorsement, and its timing, will have on the Nevada caucus. The union has a reputation for being politically calculating and secretive.

Edwards' campaign saw the Midwest group's endorsement as a positive harbinger. Chris Chafe, a senior adviser to Edwards' Nevada campaign, is a former chief of staff and political director of UNITE HERE.

"I think that Senator Edwards has a deep, deep level of support across UNITE HERE," Chafe said. "There are many parts of the union that have a long history with him."

The Midwest board, a coalition of union locals in 10 states, is significant, he said, because it "spans all the battleground states in the Midwest. They understand who is the most electable Democrat for November."

The Midwest board has about 45,000 members, but in Iowa it consists of just 300 laundry workers. The board's manager, Noel Beasley, said that they were "very enthusiastic" and that the board plans to position 40 to 50 volunteers and staff in Iowa within a week.

Beasley said the board's support for Edwards was longtime and unanimous. In addition to Iowa, the board will make a strong push in its other states. "We see Iowa as just the first step," he said.

Other campaigns were more reluctant than Edwards' to speculate about where Culinary could be headed, perhaps for fear of building up the significance of an endorsement they might not get.

"We're not going to try to read those tea leaves," Clinton spokeswoman Hilarie Grey said. "Instead, we're working every day in the community to earn their support."

New York Sen. Clinton has the backing of many national unions with members in Nevada, as does Edwards. But Obama's labor support is largely confined to the state he represents in the Senate, Illinois.

Earlier this week, Illinois labor leaders held a conference call with Nevada reporters in which they argued that was because Obama wasn't as well-connected in Washington as candidates with more national political experience.

Two UNITE HERE locals in Obama's home city of Chicago are not part of the Midwest board and have not endorsed Obama or anyone else. Other locals in Illinois are part of the pro-Edwards team.

"We are still pursuing the (Culinary) endorsement, and we feel we're very competitive," Obama spokeswoman Shannon Gilson said. "At the end of the day, we are really focused on building an organization to win."

Contact reporter Molly Ball at mball@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2919.