Bush to reach out to LV labor group

Dan Kulin

Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2004 | 11:14 a.m.

President Bush is expected to spend most of his two hours in Las Vegas on Thursday with a local carpenters union, which fellow Republicans said shows how the president has labor support and is reaching out to organized labor, typically a core Democratic group.

Some Nevada Republicans also said that because Nevada is viewed as a battleground state, Bush will probably visit the Silver State several more times before the November election. Vice President Dick Cheney is expected in Elko Saturday for a campaign rally.

Bush's Thursday visit, which is scheduled to last just over two hours, comes the day after Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, a Massachusetts senator, leaves the state following two days of campaigning here.

State Attorney General Brian Sandoval, co-chairman of Bush's Nevada campaign, said the president's visit with the local chapter of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America "speaks well that the president is reaching out to a group in labor and they to him."

Sandoval said the visit also shows the "wide spectrum of voters in Nevada" attracted to the president.

Sig Rogich, a presidential adviser to Reagan and the senior Bush, said that while the current president may not be popular with the union heads, "he has a lot of support with the rank and file in the unions."

Local officials from the carpenters union did not return repeated telephone messages left Tuesday afternoon and this morning.

During Tuesday's rally for Kerry at the Thomas & Mack Center, Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., listed the various labor unions attending the event. When she mentioned the carpenters union, some members of the crowd booed.

Keith Davis, president of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 396, said he hoped members of his union would protest the carpenters union event.

"Any labor that does not support John Kerry is not for the future of America," he said. "They're saying they're going to go along with big business."

Carol Ginthner, a customer service representative for Sprint who also is a member of the union, said she was "disappointed" that the carpenters union will host the Bush event. Carpenters sometimes take different stands on issues from the rest of labor because their jobs are protected by growth, she said.

"Kerry is for all workers, all members of the public, all citizens of this country," she said. "I certainly don't think that George Bush feels that way."

Bush is scheduled to tour the carpenters union's training center and give a speech late Thursday morning.

"The president and the carpenters share a common commitment to a growing economy, good jobs and they both understand that good jobs require good training," Bush campaign spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt said. "The program that the president will tour reflects these priorities."

Schmitt said the president was not expected to take questions from reporters, and she did not know whether Bush would address Yucca Mountain during his visit.

The proposed nuclear waste dump 90 miles from Las Vegas has become a rallying issue for Democrats, with Kerry promising to work against Yucca Mountain while the Bush administration has pushed ahead with the planned dump.

Rogich said Bush will have to talk to Nevadans about Yucca Mountain eventually, and he thinks Nevadans will ultimately not hold Bush responsible for it.

"The president inherited Yucca Mountain, which was passed by a Democratic Congress," Rogich said, adding that Kerry has voted for Yucca Mountain in the past.

"Only recently has he changed his opinion now that he needs Nevada's votes," he said.

Bush is scheduled to arrive at McCarran International Airport Thursday morning, where he will meet Las Vegas resident Michael Peschl, who is being recognized for volunteering with Habitat for Humanity of Las Vegas.

Peschl, 47, who works in the purchasing and contracts division at the Las Vegas Housing Authority, has been volunteering with Habitat for Humanity since 1996 and recently completed work on his 34th home. He spends his Saturdays helping to build homes and uses five to seven vacation days each year to work on Habitat projects, a statement from the White House said.

Peschl said he's excited by his "very rare opportunity" to meet Bush and expects to come away with a photo.

If he gets some time to speak with Bush, Peschl said he will tell the president that he voted for him four years ago and still supports him.

Bush is scheduled to return from the carpenters union event and leave Las Vegas in the early afternoon.