This suited McClellan, a conservative Democrat and opponent of labor unions: Robert Kennedy would take the brunt of organized labor's outrage, while McClellan would be free to pursue an anti-labor legislative agenda once the hearings began to draw to a close.
A spokesman for Rep. John Shadegg, a conservative from Arizona, confirmed that on Tuesday members of the Congressman's legislative staff held conversations with union officials on the labor-legislative priority.
But Mr. Paterson did not do this, say labor and legislative leaders, and when the unions responded with commercials attacking him, Mr. Paterson spoke of feeling unnerved.
The deal, which had eluded Mr. Spitzer's predecessor, George E. Pataki, brought business, labor and legislative leaders together in uncommon harmony.
The service employee union's new president, Mary Kay Henry, has avoided such talk, saying her union and others have shown they can coordinate on political campaigns and labor's legislative agenda without being part of the same federation.
Under the Obama administration, he has forcefully pushed labor's legislative agenda in addition to spending heavily in several election contests -- oftentimes with great frustration and fireworks.
Ronald E. Meisburg, a Republican and former general counsel for the National Labor Relations Board, predicted that if a Republican-controlled House cripples labor-backed legislative efforts to make it easier for workers to unionize, the Democratic-controlled labor board might take administrative steps.
"It will not be inexpensive," said William Samuel, the labor federation's legislative director.
A bipartisan group of senators and House members introduced a bill that is organized labor's chief legislative goal.
But every year since, they have left in November or December, digging out from under partisan bickering that often took the place of legislative labor.
