Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 1, 1993 TAG: 9306010048
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
He makes no apology for it.
Toney has also become heavily involved in Roanoke politics in the past two years.
He makes no apology for that, either.
Toney and several other union leaders have joined Roanoke's political kingmakers, making their influence felt locally at a time when the political clout of unions is declining nationally.
They turned out hundreds of voters at a mass meeting last year to help David Bowers gain the Democratic Party nomination for mayor.
They backed Marsha Fielder for the Democratic nomination for commissioner of revenue when most political insiders gave her little, if any, chance of winning. She won the party's nomination for the November election.
They provided much of the support for John Fishwick's strong showing in Roanoke last year in his unsuccessful bid for the Democratic congressional nomination.
Toney and other union leaders helped organize a crowd of about 75 people for Jim Updike, Bedford County commonwealth's attorney, at a mass meeting when he unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for state attorney general earlier this year.
The unions have stepped up their role in Democratic politics because city officials have taken them for granted and ignored their concerns, said Toney, business representative for Painters Union Local 891.
Specifically, they believe that union workers should get part of the jobs on city projects that have been filled in recent years by nonunion and out-of-town workers.
The Dominion Tower project was the catalyst for the resurgence of the unions, particularly the building trades unions, in city politics.
Union leaders complained about the small number of local subcontractors and union workers on the $40 million project, which included $12 million in local money for a parking garage.
Despite assurances from the city, union leaders are afraid the same thing will happen on the $42 million Hotel Roanoke project.
The building trade unions were involved in city politics in the 1970s, but they dropped out of the political scene for 12 to 15 years, Toney said.
"It was partly our own fault that we drifted away. Maybe we had gotten too comfortable," he said.
The unions intend to stay active in city politics this time despite suggestions by some officials that there is something sinister about their political involvement, Toney said.
"Some of these politicians say that organized labor is trying to take over, implying there is something wrong with it," said Toney.
"But we are not the thugs we are made out to be."
Toney, 50, grew up in Gretna, a small town in Pittsylvania County. His father ran a short-order restaurant there.
Toney got interested in politics as a youngster because his father was mayor of the town.
He decided to leave Gretna after graduating from high school because he saw little opportunity to make a good living.
It is a region of tobacco farms, furniture factories and textile plants.
"It is an area where you have to work at two or three jobs to make a living," Toney said. "I didn't see a future there."
He sees a parallel between his leaving Gretna and young people leaving the Roanoke Valley now looking for better jobs.
After graduating from high school, Toney attended Ferrum College for one year, then worked as a laborer on the Leesville and Smith Mountain dam projects for about a year.
Toney came to Roanoke in 1963 and worked briefly as a laborer. Then he became a painter and joined the union.
Six years later, he became business representative for the local, a post he has held for 24 years.
The business representative is a full-time post. He manages the union's business affairs.
Toney also is president of the Southwest Virginia Building and Construction Trades Council, a coalition of eight building unions. He has held that post for eight years.
Although Toney has kept his union posts, he and his wife have branched out into business in the past two decades, operating three restaurants and a caterering service at one time.
Because of the long hours and heavy workload, they decided to get out of the restaurant business several years ago. But his wife still runs Dot & Toney's, a small catering business.
Toney also has a rental-housing business. At one point, he owned 22 rental houses, but he has sold most of them and now has five.
Some union people speculate that Toney is a millionaire, but he sidesteps the question.
"I wish I was worth what a lot of people think I am worth," Toney said.
"I wouldn't be sitting here if I was worth that much. I live comfortably - let's put it that way."
\ `Determined' and `effective'
Toney has been the most outspoken and visible union leader on the jobs and political issues. But he said others deserve just as much credit: Gerald Meadows of the Roanoke United Central Labor Council; Dan Anderson, president of the Firemen and Oilers Union; and Jimmy Sherwood, secretary of the Teamsters local.
However, they say Toney has headed the union movement in local politics.
Toney is "determined, he works hard and he is effective," Anderson said. "He devotes more time to city politics than anyone else."
The past several years have been a tough time for the building trade unions because of the poor economy, but Toney has held them together, Meadows said.
Tommy Jordan, a Democratic activist who was a union leader until he became a supervisor for Norfolk Southern Corp., said Toney is a good organizer because he keeps his people informed and explains why he wants to support a particular candidate.
Once a campaign for the Democratic nomination for a post is over, Toney is willing to make peace and forget about the battle, Jordan said.
Toney "knows you can't hold a grudge," he said.
Jordan's wife, Debbie, clashed with Toney last year when she managed Councilman Howard Musser's bid for the Democratic nomination for mayor.
"If I was in a real dogfight and I could choose sides, I would want him on my side," she said.
The unions got involved in Bowers' campaign because they were dissatisfied with the status quo and the performance of Democratic council members Musser and James Harvey.
"We had worked for them, but they had not been responsive to our needs," Toney said. "They were quick to come to get our money and support, but we never saw them after that.
The unions are pleased with Bowers' first year as mayor, but they believe he is being hampered by some council members, especially Harvey and Musser.
Union leaders are upset that council refused to appoint Bowers to the Hotel Roanoke Conference Center Commission to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of former Finance Director Joel Schlanger.
Bowers wanted to be on the commission and union leaders backed him. But council appointed acting Finance Director James Grisso to fill the vacancy, saying it wanted someone with financial expertise. Harvey is chairman of the commission.
"I think [Bowers] was not put on the commission because of his ties with labor," Toney said.
Toney said the unions like Councilman William White. But he won't say whether they will support Harvey and Musser if the two incumbents seek new terms next year.
Toney said the union coalition wants to elect a council that is sympathetic to working people and will support Bowers.
"We have pledged to do what we have to do politically in order to become part of the city again," he said.
Keywords:
PROFILE
by CNB