1/04/01 12:20 p.m.
Labor Pains
There won’t be a united front against Chavez.

By NR’s John J. Miller & Ramesh Ponnuru

he International Union of Operating Engineers has endorsed Linda Chavez for Labor Secretary.

“I’m supporting her confirmation,” general president Frank Hanley told NR today. “She’s a fine lady. I’ve known her for a long, long time. I don’t agree with her on everything, but she has our support and she’ll have a clean slate with us.”

Chavez is a Democrat-turned-Republican with a labor-union background. Her husband, Chris Gersten, is a former IUOE employee.

“Linda Chavez is an honest person, and a highly moral person. She’s well intentioned,” said Hanley. “Above all, she’s moral. I know I’m repeating myself, but that’s very important to me.”

Hanley refused to comment on the statement of AFL-CIO president John Sweeney, which called Chavez “an avowed opponent of the most basic workers’ rights.”

The IUOE has 400,000 members who operate heavy equipment, such as cranes, shovels, and loaders, in the United States and Canada.

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