By STEVEN GREENHOUSE

Many of the nation's largest labor unions, including the Teamsters and Service Employees International Union, are pushing a plan to cut in half most unions' contributions to the AFL-CIO and instead devote the money to organizing workers, several labor leaders say.

With union membership and power steadily declining, such a move would weaken the AFL-CIO and force it to lay off many employees. The push for cutting contributions comes as a few union presidents are quietly maneuvering to persuade John Sweeney, AFL-CIO president, not to run for a new four-year term.

At a meeting in Washington last week, the presidents of several major labor unions backed a Teamsters-led plan to cut contributions to the federation, hoping the AFL-CIO's executive council will approve the plan at its meeting in Las Vegas in early March.

Under the Teamsters' plan, the AFL-CIO, a federation of 59 unions representing 13 million workers, would be forced to cut its staff of 425 and to narrow its focus mostly to politics, lobbying and serving as a public voice for workers.

"I support the Teamsters' proposal because it puts the financial resources where they belong -- into organizing," said Bruce Raynor, president of Unite Here, the newly merged union representing apparel, hotel and restaurant workers. "We need to do everything we can to reverse the decline in living standards for American workers, which has been brought about by declining union density."

The percentage of workers in unions has plunged to 12.5 percent from nearly 35 percent in the 1950s.

Among the presidents at Thursday's meetings supporting the 50 percent dues reduction were Raynor, James P. Hoffa of the Teamsters and Andrew Stern of the service employees. Joseph Hansen, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers, participated by telephone from a hospital to back the plan.

Terence O'Sullivan of the Laborers' International Union has also voiced support.

Together, these unions represent almost 5 million workers, nearly 40 percent of the AFL-CIO's membership.

Union officials say Stern and Raynor have told other labor leaders that while they believe Sweeney is doing the best he can to reverse labor's decline, it is time for new, more forceful leadership.

Sweeney is viewed as a consensus builder, who acknowledges that he has not succeeded in persuading many unions to increase their organizing as much as he had hoped.

When Sweeney, 70, was first elected federation president in 1995, he said he would serve at most 10 years. But he has reversed himself and has said repeatedly in recent months that he wants to head labor for four more years.

"What we're seeing is a little what we saw before, when some labor leaders thought it was time to get rid of Lane Kirkland," said Charles Craver, a labor relations experts at George Washington University, referring to Sweeney's predecessor. "I do have the sense there's a feeling that the organization has not been moving forward. John Sweeney has tried very hard to turn things around, but if you look at the bottom line, there is no significant change; the decline has continued unabated."

In late 1994, several union leaders maneuvered openly to pressure Kirkland to retire, and that effort succeeded. The efforts to nudge Sweeney aside are quieter and less forceful, partly because he is so well-liked and respected.

"John has talked to a lot of union presidents, and he has more than 50 percent backing for re-election," said Sweeney's spokeswoman, Denise Mitchell.

Several union presidents at Thursday's meeting have told others they hope that John Wilhelm, one of the two top leaders of Unite Here, will run for the federation presidency if Sweeney decides not to run again -- and perhaps even if he decides to run.

Wilhelm declined comment, although at a forum last week in Los Angeles he indicated that he would not be interested in the federation's presidency unless union leaders embraced some of the proposed structural changes.

Richard Trumka, the AFL-CIO's secretary treasurer and former president of the United Mine Workers, has signaled that he plans to seek the federation's presidency if Sweeney decides not to seek another term.

At last week's meeting, several union officials said, the union presidents backed a proposal to have unions focus more on organizing workers in their core industries, an idea aimed at getting unions to stop undercutting each other in recruiting workers and in negotiating contracts.

Under the Teamsters' plan, unions would have their contribution to the AFL-CIO cut only if they pledge to spend more than 10 percent of their budgets on organizing -- an amount that could reach $35 million a year.

Mitchell, Sweeney's spokeswoman, said: "John agrees with some of these reform ideas. It's not as if some of them are counter to his proposal."

She said Sweeney also supported some form of cut in dues payments by unions.

Source:  The New York Times