With just a few days before the April 10 primary nominating election in Long Beach, one union has worked especially hard to help their preferred candidates for city council. The political-action committee (PAC) for the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor AFL-CIO Council on Political Education has spent extraordinary amounts to support Rich Dines and, in particular, Roberto Uranga, candidates for the 5th and 7th Districts, respectively.
The AFL-CIO has concentrated their spending on Long Beach’s 7th District, where Councilmember Roberto Uranga is seeking re-election for a second term. The union reported that its political-action committee spent a cumulative total of $98,503.35 in support of Uranga’s candidacy, according to its March 23 campaign-finance statement.
The 7th-district councilmember does face four other opponents: Oscar Delacruz, Jared Milrad, Chris Sereno and Kevin Shin.
The AFL-CIO’s latest available statements from March 23 show that the organization supports Rich Dine’s candidacy to represent Long Beach’s 5th District. According to their records, the union has spent $7,333.32 in field-program expenses to support Dines.
Rusty Hicks serves as the president of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, also known as the LA Fed.
Hicks explained that the figures that have been reported in the campaign-finance statements are independent expenditures by his organization. He confirmed that there is no coordination between his organization and council candidates Uranga and Dines.
In an interview last month, Hicks explained the union’s support of Dines and Uranga. He highlighted Dines’s career as a marine clerk and his active membership with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). Hicks also noted Uranga’s career with the City of Long Beach.
The Signal Tribune asked Hicks to explain why he felt it was necessary to raise so much money to support Uranga and Dines. The union president highlighted housing, economic growth, vitality in the port and the hospitality and tourism industry as major priorities. He also stressed the protection of the workers in all of those industries.
When the Signal Tribune asked Hicks about the level of support the union is offering to the candidates running for the 5th and 7th District, Hicks described the vast diversity of workers who are represented by his organization. It includes nurses, teachers, firefighters and construction workers.
“These are regular folks that are pooling their money together in order to support candidates that match their values,” Hicks said.
In his bid to defeat incumbent Stacy Mungo and win the 5th District seat, Dines has enjoyed major support from another committee known as Long Beach Public Safety to Support Dines for City Council 2018. This particular group has received its contributions from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 11, Southern California Pipe Trades District Council 16 and a local chapter of the ILWU, the organization affiliated with Dines. The committee spent $40,768.45 from Jan. 1 to March 24, according to campaign-finance reports.
So far, other unions have not spent as much money on the council races. Instead, they have prioritized another issue. A measure that will be on the ballot in Long Beach’s June 5 election has preoccupied the union representing local law enforcement. The Long Beach Police Officers Association spent $50,000 in support of the utility-transfer charter amendment.
