In 1999, Spinosa led the contract negotiations with the Pacific Maritime Association, the group that represents the ILWU's employers. The membership ratified the contract on the first vote. By contrast, the previous three-year contract, negotiated by McWilliams in 1996, was initially rejected. His 1997 election as president came without the support of the longshore division. The success of Mitre and Peyton in L.A. and the backtracking by McWilliams on the China PNTR vote reveal the seriousness of McWilliams' opposition.
Labor leaders are certainly politicians, albeit with a more narrow constituency and set of issues.
When a leader strays from the mandate to improve wages and working conditions and moves purely political concerns to center stage, he risks the good management of the union's central tasks and the ire of its members. After August 3, the ILWU will have spoken. Megan L. Dively is a Summer Fellow at the Capital Research Center sponsored by the Fund for American Studies. She is an Honors College student at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.