Reaching Out to Labor

By Ed Magnuson.

As U.S. Trade Representative for the past four years, William E. Brock, 54, has been a vocal opponent of the protectionism that many labor leaders have demanded for their beleaguered industries. As a four-term Republican Congressman and a one-term Senator from Tennessee until 1976, Brock was so conservative, the AFL-CIO says, that he voted with labor on only 14% of the issues that mattered most to it. Earlier, as an executive of his family's candy company, he supported its nonunion-shop policy. So when President Reagan selected Brock last week to replace Raymond Donovan as Secretary of Labor, why were union leaders pleased? Declared AFL-CIO President Lane Kirkland: "He has earned our respect. We look forward to a new and constructive relationship with the Labor Department."

One reason for the friendly welcome is that relations between the Administration and union leaders could hardly get worse; the AFL-CIO threw its support behind Democrat Walter Mondale more than a year before last November's election, and Reagan successfully blasted his foe as a captive of such "special interests." Furthermore, Donovan, a former New Jersey construction-company executive, had done little to build a smoother relationship. Repeatedly under investigation, and finally indicted on fraud and larceny charges last October, he was too preoccupied to be effective. Although Reagan defended Donovan to the end, many of the President's aides and union leaders alike were relieved when Donovan, advised that he would soon be facing a trial, finally quit two weeks ago.

Brock has strengths of his own that make him attractive to many labor leaders. Unpretentious and relaxed, he is a political operator who exudes reasonableness even when dealing with opponents. Said one AFL-CIO official: "We disagree with Brock, but Brock listens." Said Brock of Kirkland: "He's an old friend, a man I have a great respect for, and a man I think I can work comfortably with." Nor has Brock's record as Trade Representative been completely inimical to labor. While he argued strongly for free trade, Brock nevertheless negotiated voluntary import restrictions with foreign auto and steel producers. Nevada Senator Paul Laxalt summed up Brock's assets with the observation: "I don't suppose we've had anybody in the party who's been more successful at reaching out."

Brock said he saw his new job as "a challenge that is impossible to resist." He added that his role will be not just to earn the trust of labor leaders, but to "create as many jobs as I can. That is the fundamental goal of this Administration." That apparently means Brock will follow the Administration line against closed-shop legislation and will push to abolish the minimum-wage requirement for teenage workers.

The President praised Brock's work as Republican National Committee chairman from 1977 to 1980, even though Reagan had initially supported another candidate for the position. As chairman, Brock was a moderating and unifying influence in the party, contributing to Reagan's victory in 1980. Brock's latest job may signal an effort by the White House to soften labor opposition to the Administration and to lure more workers away from the Democratic Party. Almost half of rank-and-file union workers voted for Reagan despite their leaders' endorsement of Mondale. One of Brock's assigned duties, Reagan said pointedly, will be to encourage better relations between the Administration and all workers, both "organized and unorganized."

With reporting by Gisela Bolte/Washington