Long Beach : McDonnell Douglas Union Candidates in Runoff

A May 22 runoff will decide who will lead the largest union at McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Co. at a time when Long Beach’s largest employer faces impending layoffs, peacetime cutbacks and debate over a controversial Japanese-style management.

Doug Griffith, president of United Auto Workers Local 148, will face Richard Rios for the union presidency. With several challenged ballots still unresolved, preliminary results show that Griffith received 39% of the vote and Rios 32% at Tuesday’s election. More than 12,000 members chose among 205 candidates vying for 49 posts, including six candidates for president.

One of the hottest issues of the campaign was the union-company liaison struck by Griffith and opposed by some workers as union-busting. Griffith endorses the company’s Japanese-style management--which pivots on a “team concept” and encourages employees to monitor each other’s work habits.

Some candidates say the election will help direct the future of the aerospace giant, which has announced 3,000 impending layoffs in a time of drastic military cutbacks.