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The state AFL-CIO has decided to stay neutral in the Democratic Senate primary.

James Andrews, the state AFL-CIO president said that neither former state Sen. Cal Cunningham or Secretary of State Elaine Marshall could muster the necessary two-thirds support from labor's political committee, Rob Christensen reports. A third candidate, Chapel Hill attorney Ken Lewis, chose not to participate in the interview process, Andrews said.

"There was no endorsement, which frees all the affiliates to work for the candidate of their choice," Andrews said.

The no endorsement was a setback for Cunningham, who is in the process of picking up the backing of the N.C. Association of Educators. The NCAE and AFL-CIO frequently endorse the same candidate. Andrews said the same thing occurred in 2008 when labor sat out the Democratic primary for governor when neither Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue or state Treasurer Richard Moore could get two-thirds support.

The AFL-CIO will revisit the Senate race after the Democratic primary, Andrews said.

Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton is still feeling his way.

The newly elected No. 2 in the state gets along better with Gov. Beverly Perdue than she did with her predecessor.

Known in the state Senate for his smarts, a vanilla personality and a pro-business record, Dalton has adopted a more forceful speaking style and a more pronounced populist message.

He delivered a red-meat, pro-labor message to the AFL-CIO Thursday, blaming the federal government's trade policies for the plight of "good people working side by side in a mill, losing their jobs."

Senate president pro tem Marc Basnight said that Dalton's job will never regain the power stripped from it in 1988. He'd like to make it even less independent by having gubernatorial candidates choose their running mates. (N&O)

Gov. Beverly Perdue thanked the state AFL-CIO this morning for their political backing, and promised she would work “shape up” state government.

But she sidestepped some of the more controversial issues on labor’s agenda, such as allowing collective bargaining by public employees, reports Rob Christensen.

Perdue told a conference of about 80 labor leaders at the downtown Sheraton that she was working long hours putting together a budget. She said her priorities were on preserving state spending on education, particularly K-12. She also wanted to protect vocational programs.

But she said there would be pain.

“It’s just so hard,” she said. “Its so hard to know the decisions I have to make will hurt people in North Carolina.”

More after the jump

She's back.

After a week of vacation, Gov. Beverly Perdue is back on the job. And she's willing to tell you what she'll be doing this week.

The governor's office has released Perdue's schedule for the week. It does not include the time and location for all of her meetings, but it does provide some details on who she's meeting with and what she's doing.

For example, Perdue is scheduled today to meet with representatives of the N.C. Association of Educators and the leaders of the N.C. Association of County Commissioners.

On Wednesday, she has a senior staff meeting, budget meetings and plans to attend the N.C. State-UNC basketball game.

Later in the week, Perdue plans to speak to the AFL-CIO Legislative Conference in Raleigh, speak at the board meeting of the State Employees Association of N.C. and speak to a meeting of the N.C. Center for Nonprofits.

She's also scheduled for "ethics refresher training" on Friday, and to attend the National Governor's Association meeting in Washington this weekend.

During her campaign, Perdue pledged to bring more transparency to the operations of state government. Her predecessor, Mike Easley, rarely shared details of his schedule.

U.S. Rep. Brad Miller of Raleigh held a news conference in Washington today to promote legislation that would allow home mortgages to be restructured in bankruptcy like other types of personal debt.

Miller appeared at the Capitol Visitors Center with U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois and representatives of a coalition of groups supporting the measure, including AARP, AFL-CIO, NAACP, Consumers Union and other civil rights, union and consumer groups.

The two said they would make passage of their bill, The Helping Families Save Their Homes in Bankruptcy Act, the first priority of the new Congress, according to Miller's office.

Durbin introduced the bill in October 2007, and Miller introduced a similar bill. Miller's office said he and Durbin, both Democrats, tried over the past year to pass the proposal over the resistance of the Mortgage Bankers of America and Senate Republicans.

"Middle-class families have seen their life’s savings evaporate with the collapse in the value of their homes," Miller said at the press conference. "We are not going to stop the downward spiral of our economy until we stop the collapse of home values. And, we are not going to stop the collapse of home values until we get control of foreclosures."

One in 10 homeowners, or roughly 4.6 million, are either delinquent in their mortgage payments or are in the process of foreclosure, Miller's office said.

Labor spending on state races more than doubled since the 2004 elections.

According to campaign finance reports, six unions spent about $2.2 million on contributions and independent expenditures for campaigns for state office in 2004.

That's less than half the $4.7 million spent this year.

Here's a breakdown:

Service Employees International Union: $1.5 million

N.C. Association of Educators: $272,803

International Brotherhood of Teamsters: $198,150

National Education Association: $149,000

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers: $40,000

State Employees Association of N.C.: $35,059

N.C. chapter of the AFL-CIO: $8,000

UNITE HERE: $5,000

United Auto Workers: $600

Sen.-elect Kay Hagan received $199,000 from unions in 2008.

The Greensboro Democrat received donations from 29 political action committees affiliated with labor unions during her run for the Senate, according to federal campaign finance reports.

Top donors included the Teamsters, the National Education Association, the American Federation of Teachers, United Food and Commercial Workers, the International Association of Firefighters and the Communications Workers of America, which each gave $10,000.

She also received significant donations from the AFL-CIO, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the United Transportation Union.

Change to Win, a federation of unions including the Teamsters, also made robocalls on Hagan's behalf, and the SEIU and the UFCW donated to Majority Action, which ran ads attacking Sen. Elizabeth Dole.

How much did labor groups spend in 2008?

We're still working through the campaign finance reports, but here are the numbers Dome has collected so far on spending in state races by unions and employee associations:

National Education Association: $1,935,703

Service Employees International Union: $1,810,569

International Brotherhood of Teamsters: $334,117

N.C. Association of Educators: $267,230

State Employees Association of N.C.: $194,800

United Food and Commercial Workers Union: $116,500

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers: $41,500

Communications Workers of America: $18,750

UNITE HERE: $16,500

United Auto Workers: $9,000

N.C. Chapter of the AFL-CIO: $4,000

That adds up to $4.7 million for the 2008 cycle. However, it does not take into account money given by unions to groups such as the Democratic Governors Association, which also spent heavily here.

It also does not include spending in the U.S. Senate race.

The AFL-CIO spent $4,000 in 2008.

The coalition of unions gave Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue a $4,000 donation in September. 

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers gave $41,500 in 2008.

The electricians' union gave $30,000 to the N.C. Democratic Party, $5,000 to the N.C. AFL-CIO Victory Fund, $4,000 to Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue and $2,500 to Treasurer-elect Janet Cowell, according to campaign finance reports.