Politics a Low Priority in Wake of Disaster

By Jessica Kowal | STAFF WRITER

September 20, 2001

Tuesday's rescheduled primary election is a wild card because of vast uncertainty among candidates over how many people will vote.

Particularly for the four major Democratic candidates for mayor, who spent years building alliances with interest groups and unions to guarantee blocs of votes, the World Trade Center attacks made past plans irrelevant.

Focused and energized before Sept. 11, several unions are now dealing with the graver issues of life, death and unemployment. Some of the biggest labor players, unsure about members' tolerance for politics, haven't made basic decisions about Primary Day volunteers, telephone calls or even whether to send literature.

"It's basically going to be a very short and quick effort [to say] you should vote," said Ed Ott, director of public policy for the New York City Central Labor Council.

Some city leaders and unions, however, hope to convince citizens to send a message that terrorism will not derail democracy.

New Yorkers must "demonstrate our faith in our system ... by turning out in huge numbers to vote," said former Mayor David Dinkins, who has endorsed Public Advocate Mark Green.

For several unions, the election is irrelevant compared to rescue and recovery efforts in lower Manhattan. Firefighters, police, EMTs, carpenters, ironworkers and other trades workers have labored for more than a week and will have little time or desire to focus on voting, Ott said.

Politics is not a priority for the Uniformed Firefighters Association, which endorsed Council Speaker Peter Vallone. The union is dealing with the loss of well over 300 firefighters, rescue efforts, and fire protection across the city, said Tom Butler, a union spokesman.

"We've all got our hands full at this time," Butler said.

The United Federation of Teachers, which endorsed city Comptroller Alan Hevesi, suspended all political efforts on Sept. 11 and hasn't decided what to do next, a union official said.

"It's the last thing that people are thinking about right now," the official said, adding that several teachers' spouses are missing in the wreckage.

But some unions are moving ahead. The health care union, Local 1199 of the Service Employees International Union, which supports Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer, was criticized by some labor leaders for making telephone calls as early as Monday. "A lot of people just weren't ready to hear it," a labor official said.

Nonetheless, Local 1199, which lost at least three members in the towers' collapse, is contacting people who volunteered on Sept. 11 to ask if they'll return next Tuesday.

"We want people to know there is a new election," said Jennifer Cunningham, executive director of SEIU's New York State Council.

SEIU Local 32BJ still wants to help Green, despite losing 26 members who were janitors, window washers, maintenance workers and security guards at the World Trade Center. The disaster also eliminated 2,000 of the local's jobs in the downtown area.

"We plan to do whatever we can, under the circumstances," said spokesman Bill Meyerson.

Some unions have logistical problems. The largest municipal union, District Council 37, which supports Vallone, is locked out of its downtown office.

But another Vallone supporter, the Correction Officers Benevolent Association, is not holding back.

"We definitely have the energy to get out and vote," said union President Norman Seabrook. He was criticized for putting up new posters to support Vallone, but insisted these posters were hanging on Sept. 11.