Unions say Gephardt aide made threats 03:22 PM CST on Wednesday, December 3, 2003 Associated Press - link (registration required) WASHINGTON - Prominent labor leaders on Wednesday accused a St. Louis-based aide to Democratic presidential candidate Dick Gephardt of threatening retaliation against state employees if two prominent unions assist rival Howard Dean in the 2004 Missouri primary. In a letter to Gephardt, D-Mo., Andrew Stern and Gerald McEntee accused Joyce Aboussie of vowing to seek the reversal of an executive order that granted Missouri state employees collective bargaining rights. The two called on Gephardt to fire Aboussie from the campaign and issue a written retraction of her threats. Aboussie did not immediately return calls for comment. The Gephardt campaign issued a statement saying he strongly supports collective bargaining for public employees; he had no comment on the accusations. McEntee, head of the 1.5-million member American Federation of State, County and Municipal employees, and Stern, president of the 1.6-million member Service Employees International Union, accused Aboussie of making her threat Monday at a meeting also attended by Missouri Gov. Bob Holden. Aboussie is a longtime home-state aide to Gephardt, who is counting on a solid victory in Missouri in the Feb. 3 Democratic presidential primary. Although Gephardt did not receive the endorsements of the SEIU and AFSCME, he has consistently carried labor's fight during his 27 years in the House and has the backing of more than 20 international unions. Holden, who has close ties to Gephardt and Aboussie, granted collective bargaining rights to thousands of state workers in an executive order two years ago. In their letter, Stern and McEntee said Aboussie warned them that if they worked for Dean in Missouri, she would prod at least 22 state legislators to write Republican leaders calling for repeal of the collective bargaining order. Republican state legislative leaders have tried and failed to challenge Holden's order in the courts and in the legislature. "It's bad enough to deliver an ultimatum to any group of people," the AFSCME and SEIU presidents wrote. "But for a senior aide of yours – who has worked for you for more than 20 years – to do so at the expense of Missouri's state employees is deplorable." The two unions are collective bargaining's staunchest backers in Missouri. However, another Missouri labor leader defended the Gephardt campaign, saying SEIU and AFSCME were motivated by presidential politics. "This isn't tiddlywinks; it's politics, and everybody's committed to doing what they need to do," said Bob Kelley, president of the greater St. Louis Labor Council, AFL-CIO. "The bottom line is, it's politics, pure and simple," said Kelley, a longtime Gephardt backer. "And I have to tell you, I will take Joyce's influence on Missouri politics over either AFSCME or SEIU." Holden, who supports Gephardt, said in a statement, "It is my hope that all my friends who believe in the rights of workers can resolve their differences." --------------------------------- And y'all thought only McCain and Bush had fueds through the media.
