Unions upset Kerry, Edwards missed vote

Democrats missed a good chance to try to defeat President Bush’s competitive-sourcing initiative, which would privatize some government jobs, and unions are blaming presidential candidates Sens. John Edwards and John Kerry for missing the vote.

“There’s disappointment that senators who are presidential candidates were not there,” said one union source who had been tracking the issue. “It seems they may have been blindsided by the schedule of the vote, and if that’s the case, it’s certainly understandable, but it’s disappointing.”

At issue are Bush administration rules to let companies compete for government contracts to do commercial-like functions. Unions see it as a threat and Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, Maryland Democrat, offered an amendment to a spending bill Thursday to block those rules.

The amendment failed 48-47, but Sen. Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, was on the floor ready to vote for it, which would have made the vote a tie. If Mr. Edwards or Mr. Kerry had voted, the amendment probably would have passed. Sen. Barbara Boxer, California Democrat, also missed the vote. The other Democratic presidential candidate in the Senate, Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, voted for the amendment.

With the House having passed its own amendment in September to block the rules, both chambers had a chance to be on record opposing the administration. That would have made it almost certain the union position would have prevailed when the House and Senate spending bills are squared with each other in a conference committee.

“It would have stayed in conference. It would have enabled the federal employee unions to achieve their objectives,” said Rep. James P. Moran, Virginia Democrat. “If both houses of Congress put it in, case closed.”

Mr. Moran, whose Northern Virginia district is home to many federal employees, supported the House amendment. He said there is room to outsource some jobs, but the Bush administration is moving too quickly. He said the amendments simply sent a signal to the White House to slow down.

But with a White House veto threat and the Senate on record supporting the administration, the union position is much less secure.

Mr. Moran said there’s bound to be bitterness on the part of federal employee unions towards the presidential candidates who missed the vote.

“It makes it difficult for them to now turn to the federal employee unions and ask for their support,” he said. “This was the most important vote of the year for federal employee unions, by far.”

Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, said knowing the senators would have voted for it means they are still in a strong bargaining position.

“It’s unfortunate, but we know their positions on this and they support our position on this,” she said.

The issue is very important to unions, said Carl Goldman, executive director of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 26, which includes federal employees. He said the amendment’s narrow defeat “will enable the Bush administration to continue its program of selling America to its corporate allies.”

“The outcome of this vote is not good for the U.S. public, for federal employees, nor the public interest. It is only good for the privateers,” he said in a statement.

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