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Show - mm w 1 J LABOR GIRDING AGAINST GOP RIGHT It did not take the leaders of organized labor any time at all to realize that the Reagan landslide at the polls last November was certian to take a big tuck in union clout at all levels. Labor had, of course, made little headway during the preceding four years when Jimmy Carter held sway in the White House, and its political power had sagged notably. But the installation of President Reagan and his conservative aides in Washington gave even more pause to labor bigwigs, convincing them that it was time to begin positive action to buck the rightist tide which bodied ill for union progress. STARTING AT GRASS ROOTS Planners within the AFL-CIO decided to start form scratch with a campaign to bring workers in all sections of the country into closer rapport with the labor movement. The first step was a hard-driving personal mission on the part of AFL-CIO President Lane Kirkland and Secretary -Treasurer Thomas Donahue--accompanied by major members of the federation's national staff-to set up regional meetings in a number of major cities. The basic and immediate objective was to build up the labors group's internal in-ternal strength through coordinating state and city federations, and persuading per-suading them to carry a greater part of the political process geared to promote and protect broader concessions for the workers. The meetings in a number of central areas have taken aim at the Reagan Administration programs considered by labor to be critical threat to the half-century half-century of social gains achieved since the early Franklin D. Roosevelt days. Many top unionists feel that only a determined and unremitting battle against Reagan's right-wing WTiite House and the Republican-dominated Congress will give any hope of hanging onto such hard-won union benefits as ' are already being eyed for government revision, or even elimination, by some new executives and lawmakers now ensconced in Washingtion. PLANNING STRATEGY Whether the anti-union pressures are exaggerated or not, Kirkland and his fellows intend to spOr an in-depth drive among workers in all parts of the economy (and the nation) against what they discern as anti-labor proposals. Suggested is a big scale campaign by mail and through personal contact to persuade members of congress and government ececutives to give a fair shake to union demands, and surely not to take away benefits already achieved. Part of thestrategy of holding meetings in a variety of localities is to broaden Onion support, especially in case of any crucial showdowns. Federation leaders are, of course, keenly aware of the value of solid union backing for "friends" during the 1982 congressional elections, in the hope of unifying pro-labor voters at state and local levels and staving off further GOP or other hostile gains. Nor is the 1984 presidential election being ignored despite the fact that it is a long way off. The AFL-CIO has in mind far greater involvement in national political matters by that time. Being considered is endorsement of presidential can-didated can-didated in state primaries, which of couse would require powerful support from state and city federations if this proposal were to become effective. VALUE OF REGIONAL SESSIONS Reagan-amoung others-has claimed that the Federation has lost real touch with the rank and file, and this is a bitter pill to swallow. Already President Kirkland is trying to improve his position, and he is doing more traveling and visiting with his constituencies con-stituencies than any other AFL-CIO leader has done. His attacks upon Reagan and other conservatives have been well received by union members in many instances, giving .labor executives hope that their position-both political and in working terms- is on the way up. |