Labor secretary: Union relations better

Leigh Strope

Wednesday, June 6, 2001 | 11:06 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Organized labor and the Bush administration have gotten off to a rocky start, but the relationship is improving as they focus on areas of common interest, such as jobs, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao said Tuesday.

"It's getting better," she said in an interview with the Associated Press. "I think it's got to be a two-way street. To be realistic, both sides have to try."

Early moves by the Bush administration alienated union leaders, including the repeal of workplace regulations dealing with ergonomics -- a science of adapting working conditions to suit individual employees -- and a string of executive orders rolling back federal rules friendly to labor.

Chao said she is committed to "a comprehensive review" of new workplace safety rules aimed at reducing ergonomics-related injuries, but would not say if she would pursue another federal regulation or a voluntary policy. "This is a priority and we are working on it," she said.

Lately the administration has tried to woo some unions, particularly construction and trades groups whose members have tended to be more conservative than the AFL-CIO leadership.

"It is this administration's intent to have an aggressive outreach to organized labor and to try to find areas of commonality where we can work together," Chao said.

Steel union leaders praised Bush on Tuesday for initiating an investigation of unfair trade practices that could lead to restrictions on steel imports. The move came after steel union leaders met with members of President Bush's Cabinet last week to press for protections.

The administration also has sought the Teamsters and other unions in support of Bush's energy plan.

Chao said her June 20 "Summit on the 21st Century Workforce" is another example. Union leaders have agreed to participate, including AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, Teamsters President James Hoffa and heads of unions representing hotel and restaurant workers, mine workers and carpenters.

The event in Washington also includes Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and executives of such companies as Microsoft, Harley-Davidson, Hewlett-Packard, Marriott and Wal-Mart.

The focus will be on helping workers and employers adapt to a new, global economy. The summit is Chao's first major initiative as secretary, and several new programs will be announced, including a federal government partnership with the job search Internet site, Monster.com.

She wants her agency to "ensure that we are preparing the American worker to adapt to a new reality."

The idea, however, is not new. Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, who served under President Clinton, also created a similar office that was short-lived.

In the interview, Chao also defended her husband, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., for waging a war of words with the Courier-Journal of Louisville, Ky., over what he calls a "liberal bias" in the paper's coverage of the couple.

"I think when a hometown newspaper, prior to my announcement (as Labor Secretary) has only mentioned me in glowing terms, and then suddenly after my announcement, has attacked me and my husband every other day for three solid weeks, it does call into question the objectivity of their coverage," she said.

The newspaper has said in stories and editorials that McConnell's stance toward China has softened, in part because of Chao, a native of Taiwan. The newspaper also has written about Chao's failure to disclose that she was a director of a firm with close ties to China's government. Chao has said the omission was an accident.

"Any coverage we have done on either one of them has been newsworthy, factual and objective," said Bennie Ivory, Courier-Journal executive editor and vice president for news. "We have given them the opportunity to challenge anything that we've published, and so far, neither one of them has stepped forward to challenge a single fact."