Jumped Gun for Clinton
Parent Union Scolds CSEA on Early Nod

By MEREDITH KOLODNER

The Civil Service Employees' Association's parent union last week accused it of breaking ranks by endorsing Hillary Clinton for President on July 26 instead of waiting to make an announcement in September alongside the rest of the union.

GERALD W. McENTEE: CSEA not a team player.

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees President Gerald W. McEntee wrote a letter to affiliates expressing his "disappointment" that CSEA had jumped the gun, claiming that its top leaders had agreed to hold off until the fall in the hopes that AFSCME could announce its unified support for a candidate with the full weight of its 1.6 million members.

Disobeyed AFL-CIO

Mr. McEntee also stated that the AFL-CIO in March had asked all affiliates to refrain from endorsements until the fall to allow for the possibility that the entire federation could "speak with one voice." CSEA officials refuted the idea that they did anything wrong and asserted that they were acting in the best interest of their members.

"Frankly, we are disappointed that they have chosen to act unilaterally," Mr. McEntee stated in the letter. "It represents a break in our efforts to work together in a collaborative and cooperative way to choose a candidate who will earn AFSCME's full support."

DANNY DONOHUE: Defends early endorsement.

Sources inside the union have said that CSEA President Danny Donohue is planning to run against Mr. McEntee next year for president of AFSCME. Mr. Donohue has declined comment on his intentions.

"It's really unfortunate that AFSCME is taking exception to this action," said CSEA Director of Communications Steve Madarasz, "because CSEA is acting in the best interest of our members, as is our right to do."

'We Won't Debate Them'

When asked whether CSEA had violated an agreement to wait for the possibility of a unified announcement, Mr. Madarasz replied, "We're not going to get into a public debate with AFSCME about this. We're not going to respond point by point to them."

He added that the decision was taken after extensive "polling and interaction with our members and leaders," and noted that the move was not unprecedented. CSEA endorsed Bill Clinton for president in 1991 before AFSCME announced its decision to do the same.

There has been widespread speculation that AFSCME is leaning towards endorsing Ms. Clinton. The union has made election of a Democratic candidate in 2008 a top priority and has announced its intention to mobilize 40,000 volunteers and spend $45 million on the 2008 Presidential race.

Mr. McEntee said AFSCME's process for endorsement included a series of candidate interviews and questionnaires and that the union wanted to "dig deep and dig wide into our membership" to find out who among the candidates, if any, deserved the union's support. Last week AFSCME's screening committee met with several candidates.

The AFL-CIO is holding a candidates' forum in Chicago on Aug. 7. The federation can only endorse a candidate if two-thirds of its affiliates are in agreement.

"Regardless of the CSEA endorsement," Mr. McEntee wrote, "AFSCME will continue on the road of solidarity."