Culinary endorses governor

Friday, Jan. 30, 1998 | 9:34 a.m.

SUN STAFF REPORTS

By landing the endorsement of Culinary Union Local 226, Gov. Bob Miller caught the biggest fish in the pond, but reeling in the support of the Nevada AFL-CIO still is at issue.

The support from the 40,000 member Culinary Union, announced Monday, gave Miller about half the votes he will need to secure the full AFL-CIO pledge. It will take two-thirds of the vote from the 120,000-member statewide labor organization to gain the gubernatorial endorsement at its annual convention, which wraps up today at the Tropicana hotel-casino.

The Culinary union, which controls about one-third of the AFL-CIO vote as its largest affiliate, indicated it supports Miller because of the role he has played in attempting to help mediate an end to the Frontier hotel-casino strike.

"In my mind, we were never undecided about who we were going to endorse," said Culinary secretary-treasurer Jim Arnold. "Whoever supports our people, that's who we will support. The governor has done a hell of a job trying to end the strike at the Frontier Hotel, and he has a 20-year record of supporting working men and women in the state."

Added Culinary President Hattie Canty: "Somebody has to have the backbone to make a decision. I know some decisions have been tough for Gov. Miller, but he did what he thought was best for the state."

Mayor Jan Laverty Jones, Miller's chief Democratic gubernatorial rival, is attempting to prevent the governor from securing the AFL-CIO endorsement by rounding up support from other unions upset over his State Industrial Insurance System reforms from 1993. Some unions, particularly in the building trades, have argued that the reforms have hurt workers.

Jones' campaign spokeswo-man, Cathy Hanson, said she was not surprised by the Culinary support for Miller.

"We know we have the vast majority of support from the rank and file," Hanson said of union members.

Gov. Bob Miller