The Texas Observer MARCH 1, 1968 A Journal of Free Voices A Window to The South 25c The Dilemma Facing COPE Austin There is a potential backlash for the race against Lt. Gov. Ramsey but not Texas organized labor will meet this Yarborough campaign in the Gladden- endorsed. weekend in Galveston to consider sup- COPE situation. Several veteran liberal In 1961 COPE voted by 44-37 to endorse port of candidates for statewide offices. campaign leaders in Tarrant County have Maverick over Gonzalez in the special It is anticipated that the Texas AFL-CIO's already forsaken Yarborough and have Senate election. State Rep. Dan Struve, Committee on Political Education begun working for John Hill, in anger a Gonzalez supporter, charged that the (COPE) will endorse the only liberal in over labor's stance as to the Gladden support of labor leaders had made the governor's race, Don Yarborough, and race. COPE's decision in favor of Maverick "a either recommend or stand mute as to It is understood that Gladden has con- foregone conclusion." the candidacy of Don Gladden, the liberal sidered not campaigning if he does not In 1962 the word "recommended" was who is running for lieutenant governor. get the COPE endorsement; the effect of developed by COPE in cases where it did Gladden is not expected to get a full en- such a stance by him would certainly be not want to endorse but did want to dorsement. adverse to the Yarborough campaign, and express support of a candidate. Recom- The Gladden matter is the central ques- would intensify the usually muted but mendations were accorded Don Yar- tion the delegates will face. The Fort persistent mistrust that exists between borough over his five gubernatorial op- Worth Representative has an almost spot- many people of organized labor and much ponents including Connally (who went on less voting record, by labor standards, in of the rest of the state's liberal com- to win his first election); liberal James his four terms in the legislature. He is munity. Turman over three conservative oppo- rated as having voted right 88 times, nents for lieutenant governor including wrong four times. State labor leaders Preston Smith, the ultimate winner; Tom had wanted former Sen. Franklin Spears, COPE WAS formed in 1956 dur- Reavley, running for attorney general San Antonio, to make the race for the ing the merger of the AFL and CIO. Since against five other men including the win- No. 2 spot and most of last year it had then, in Texas, the committee has en- ner, Waggoner Carr; and Woodrow Bean, appeared that . Spears would run. But as dorsed five candidates in statewide races the liberal in the Congressman-at-Large the year wore on he began backing off —Gov. Price Daniel and Atty. Gen. Will race won by Joe Pool. from another costly and wearing state Wilson in 1960 (both of whom won); The Observer, in 1962, said "recommen- campaign. He is now running unopposed liberal Maury Maverick, Jr., in 1961, dation" was "a juggling of [COPE's] nor- for a $26,000-a-year district judgeship in running for the US Senate (the election mal procedure." A top labor spokesman San Antonio. With Spears pulling out, that John Tower won); and liberals Stan- was quoted as saying the matter was "a labor officials looked over the field, saw ley Woods and Spears in 1966 in the gov- semantic proposition more than anything no other prospective liberal candidate ernor's and attorney general's races, re- else." Labor president Hank Brown who had benefited from the exposure spectively, both of whom lost. pointed out that COPE was not employ- and experience of making a statewide In other years less forthright support ing the word "endorse" for any of the race. It was concluded that Speaker Ben has been expressed by COPE for certain approved candidates. Barnes, the man favored to win the race, candidates or else the committee has In 1964 COPE made no endorsements might be wooed a bit more towards la- declined to endorse at all. or recommendations. That was the year bor's position. Barnes has long main- In the 1957 special election in which Don Yarborough challenged Connally tained contacts among Texas liberals, Ralph Yarborough was first sent to the again and Albert Fuentes was appealing despite having a labor voting record of Senate, defeating 70 other candidates, for liberal votes against Lt. Gov. Smith. five right, 41 wrong. COPE expressed no preference. The com- The Observer, in 1964, reported what It has appeared that Barnes and the mittee published what the Observer was going on: "[President] Johnson had leaders of organized labor have achieved called, at the time, a "make up your own exacted, quid pro quo, commitments from some sort of understanding as to the mind" pamphlet, saying the practical con- labor leaders to oppose the endorsement race, but a top labor official has told the tenders were three conservatives—Searcy of Don Yarborough over John Connally Observer that there is no commitment by Bracewell, Martin Dies, Thad Hutcheson in exchange for the protection of Ralph labor to Barnes. Nevertheless, since Glad- —and the liberal Yarborough. [Yarborough, who was up for reelection]. den came into the race labor leaders have In 1958 COPE made no endorsements As Johnson helped a liberal and hurt a distinctly been unencouraging as to back- but "commended . for their records in conservative he also helped the conser- ing him. This has caused unhappiness public life" Senator Yarborough (run- vative and hurt another liberal. The among Texas liberals. ning, successfully, for reelection against Washington Post published reports cir- Illustrating the potential effect of the the conservative William Blakley), State culated in Austin that Johnson persuaded situation upon liberal hopes was a trip Sen. Henry Gonzalez (running for gover- union presidents Walter Reuther, David AFL-CIO president Hank Brown made nor against three conservatives, including McDonald, and Al Hayes to urge Texas to Fort Worth, Gladden's home city, in the incumbent Daniels, who won), and union leaders not to support Don Yar- January with Yarborough as part of the ex-Sen. George Nokes (opposing the arch- borough. voter registration drive. Yarborough, who conservative Lt. Gov. Ramsey, who won). "Hank Brown, state labor president, had plugged the Gladden candidacy at In 1960 Daniel and Wilson received the and Roy Evans, Texas labor's secretary- every opportunity during his travels over first endorsements COPE has made, the treasurer, have both been publicly dis- the state in January, was treated cordial- governor over Jack Cox, Wilson over couraging Don from running. .. There ly by Tarrant County liberals, but Brown Waggoner Carr and Robert E. L. Looney. was much dissatisfaction with the situa- was greeted with distinct coolness. Don Yarborough, was encouraged in his tion in labor's rank and file. Many of the union people wanted to endorse Don Yar- candidate and his running mate whom 1970 or later ancl, meanwhile, seek to borough, but they felt that their leaders COPE did not endorse. control the state's politics by running had made a bargain, that a real benefit the Senate the next two years. had been delivered—no serious opposi- THERE IS TALK around the COPE's dilemma at Galveston as to tion to the senator—and that they, there- state this year that President Johnson Gladden's candidacy is whether to go fore, were bound to keep that deal. On the and national labor leader George Meany against the apparent wishes of Johnson other hand, there was the fact that the are looking to Barnes as the coming and Meany and support the liberal candi- liberals who [had] met in the Democratic power in Texas politics, the man they date. The situation is similar to that in Coalition late in January were gung-ho will deal with. There is the story, first 1964, when Johnson and other national for Don . and that the matter needed reported by Garth Jones in the Associated labor leaders had determined to damp to be carried off with the least damage Press, of President Johnson telling down the challenge to Connally by with- to the Coalition they could manage. Barnes as Barnes was leaving a party holding COPE endorsement from Don "Without any public remarks, then, la- during the holidays, "Mr. Speaker, I want Yarborough. Barnes is becoming a power you to know I am with you—money, mar- in Texas politics; he is likeable; he is not bor voted not to endorse any candidates bles, or chalk." While Barnes was attend- for state office. Homer Moore, oilworker personally antagonistic to labor and lib- ing the State AFL-CIO convention last eral people; he is favored to win. There delegate from Corpus Christi, expressed August in Fort Worth he conferred pri- appears no percentage in endorsing Glad- the spirit of many of the remarks heard vately with Vice President Humphrey; den, not at least in terms of the reasoning among the delegates when, in a later de- Barnes is the only Texas politician whom that has prevailed in previous COPE deci- bate, Moore said right out: 'There has Humphrey is known to have seen in such sions; COPE has characteristically shun- been so much arranged before we got closed - door circumstances during the ned committing itself fully, by endorse- here on 90% of it, and the other 10% was Vice President's brief visit to that conven- ment, to an underdog, having done so pretty much pressured. Gentlemen, it is tion. Texas labor president . Hank Brown, only three times in its history—Maverick my feeling that.