Durazo, the widow of labor chief Miguel Contreras, who spent a decade building the political influence of the County Federation before his sudden death last May, has strong loyalties within much of the union movement. With the threatened breakaway and lack of a solidarity agreement, some members of the County Fed executive board were believed to want a successor with more time to devote to local issues and little chance of leaving the umbrella union. Ultimately, analysts said the naming of a successor will be pivotal to future success of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who had long relied on Ludlow as a close ally in union issues. Jaime Regalado, director of the Pat Brown Institute at California State University, Los Angeles, said while he believes Ludlow had unique talents in organizing and encouraging people on issues, the greatest impact might be for Villaraigosa. “The mayor was counting on Ludlow as the one person he needed to cover for him with the unions as the mayor deals with other issues,” Regalado said. “The takeover of the school district, for one. Ludlow was able to give him support there. It might be more difficult to get someone to cover the mayor’s flanks on an issue like that. And, the unions need someone who will hold the house of labor together in Los Angeles.” Ludlow has long been a close ally of Villaraigosa – the mayor has variously compared their relationship to that of brothers or father and son – as well as having strong ties throughout the labor movement. Prior to his City Council election, Ludlow had worked for Villaraigosa and also as political director for the County Fed. So far, experts say the loss of Ludlow is a blow to the union but that the years of work by Contreras will help sustain the movement. Los Angeles long has been cited as an example of how traditional unions – building trades, painters and carpenters – have been able to work with newer union members, many from the service industries and government. Contreras was widely credited with bringing that unity together and Ludlow was seen as having the ability to keep the coalition together. Still, by not making an immediate decision on a successor, Regalado said it leaves the union in a quandary. “You have part of the labor movement who will wonder if they have a voice in the Mayor’s Office and others who are more concerned about the impact on their unions and their members,” Regalado said. “It is a drama that will be played out for all of us.” Jack Kyser, chief economist of the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp., said the situation puts the union in an awkward position. “The loss of Martin Ludlow is the loss of someone who grew up in the labor movement and understood it. … It will be a difficult time for anyone who comes in to take control with various contracts coming up for approval and with the year’s elections.” Parke Skelton, who managed Villaraigosa’s mayoral campaign, said he doesn’t believe the impact of Ludlow’s resignation will be long-lasting. “Labor in Los Angeles is bigger than just one person. What Miguel built will not easily be torn down or destroyed with one setback. Martin was there for less than a year and the strength of the union is in its past and will continue.” Rick Orlov, (213) 978-0390 rick.orlov.@dailynews.com 160Want local news?Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Something went wrong. Please try again.subscribeCongratulations! You’re all set! AD Quality Auto 360p 720p 1080p Top articles1/5READ MORECasino Insider: Here’s a look at San Manuel’s new high limit rooms, Asian restaurant The deadlock comes just days after Martin Ludlow resigned as head of one of the most powerful labor locals in the nation amid a federal criminal investigation into union campaign contributions during his 2003 City Council race. Ludlow reportedly is negotiating a plea bargain that involves heavy fines, restitution and a ban on serving in public office or a union leadership role. The abrupt resignation marked the second top-level change for the powerful union in less than a year and comes at a crucial time as national unions are facing a Wednesday deadline to sign solidarity agreements that would allow dissenting unions to work together. That breakaway has not affected – so far – groups such as the County Federation, through which the various unions have joined forces for years on political issues. But experts said the issue – in which hotel and restaurant workers, under their UNITE Here union, and members of the various Service Employees International Union locals voted to pull out of the AFL-CIO and form their own organization – might have led to Thursday’s deadlock. The perceived front-runner for the interim job was Maria Elena Durazo, head of UNITE Here in Los Angeles and a national vice president of the organization that is developing plans for a nationwide strike. Signaling potential divisions in the county’s biggest labor union just two days after its top leader resigned, officials emerged from a more than two-hour, closed-door session Thursday saying they had deadlocked over naming a successor. In a terse statement, Rick Icaza, president of the County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, said the union’s 32-member executive board was unable to agree on an interim secretary-treasurer to represent the union’s 600,000 workers across the county. “The process is governed by democratic principles and our discussions are continuing,” Icaza said. “It is not appropriate to discuss the details of the deliberations in public.” Icaza, who also is president of United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 770, took no questions and said the board would meet again in a week to try to resolve the issue. read more