Threatened with the loss of organized labor support in his U.S. Senate bid, Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas appears to be trying to repair relations with the unions that took him to task over police tactics during the FTAA protests in downtown Miami.
Penelas will meet today with Fred Frost, president of the South Florida AFL-CIO and one of the leading critics of police performance during the November protests.
Several unions -- critical in a Democratic primary for endorsements, cash and votes -- have said they plan to hold Penelas accountable for what they consider police brutality.
''He's got to earn people's respect back,'' said Frost, who said he told Penelas at the Democratic state convention in December that he wanted to talk about his concern that police made it impossible for union members to protest.
Frost said he also plans to show Penelas a videotape of what he considers police abuse.
''This is a big factor to me. Our folks standing up for what they believe in, but not being able to express their constitutional rights and in some cases getting hurt,'' Frost said. 'If that doesn't warrant public officials' attention, nothing does.''
Penelas, who has defended the police response, waved off suggestions that he's looking to shore up labor support.
''It's not about mending fences,'' Penelas said. ``It's about doing my job as mayor. I told them repeatedly if they have specific complaints against our police department that I want to hear about them. And I want our police department to institute whatever processes are needed so complaints can be investigated.''
Besides meeting with Frost, Penelas has lent his support to a union-organizing effort at Pan American Hospital, telling hospital employees in a Jan. 15th letter that his father was a union member and that he had ``witnessed how the union helped him find work.''
The Service Employees International Union Local 1199 won the elections, but Penelas' letter has drawn a rebuke from the hospital. The 146-bed hospital has complained to the National Labor Relations Board that the letter made it seem as if ''the government'' endorsed the election.
ATTORNEY CRITICAL
Hospital attorney Charles Caulkins said he was astonished to see the mayor weigh in, adding that he's only once before in 27 years of labor law seen a public official get involved in a union election.
''It's fundamentally inappropriate for government officials to meddle like that,'' Caulkins said.
``You just don't see publicly elected officials get involved in union election campaigns at private employers.''
A hearing on the complaints will be held Feb. 23.
SEIU President Monica Russo said she has frequently asked politicians for their support and that Penelas has been a longtime SEIU supporter.
ROUTINE APPROACH
''We don't do it every election but it's a standard, routine approach,'' Russo said, calling the hospital complaint ''a delay tactic'' on behalf of a facility that has fought the union.
''There's nothing wrong with a letter,'' Russo said. ``This is America.''
Russo said that she doesn't believe the letter is related to Penelas' FTAA problems, but she said her union is still smarting from the treatment by police.
''We were disappointed with the FTAA reaction, but there is a longer-term relationship with the mayor,'' Russo said.
The complaints over police brutality pose a dilemma for Penelas, who faces an Aug. 31 primary against U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch of Broward and former Education Commissioner Betty Castor of Tampa.
''This is a crucial time here,'' Frost said.
''All the unions are really looking at these candidates. We want to see who is going to be standing up for working people,'' Frost said.
Penelas said he's confident his record of backing union issues like living wages will outweigh the FTAA debate.
''The viability of my candidacy and electability goes beyond those kind of issues,'' Penelas said. ``I'm always going to be a defender of working families and that's not going to change whether some chose to endorse me or not.''
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