| Sumario: | The writer considers union intervention in the presidential nominating process during the 1980s. The early endorsement in 1984 of former vice president Walter Mondale for the Democratic nomination by the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations implied the dawning of a new labor strategy. For the first time since Vice President Hubert Humphrey's campaign for the nomination in 1968, union leaders backed a single candidate from the early stages and guaranteed his selection as the party's nominee. Although it may have appeared that the union's old power broker role had returned, the labor movement was once again divided in 1988 among several candidates and found itself in a weak position to determine the nominee. These two nominating campaigns portray the ongoing possibilities and dangers of the present nominating process for the realization of labor union power. In addition, they illuminate the strategic environment that confronts all interest groups as they strive to influence presidential nominations.
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