Kirkland Won’t Say Whether He’ll Seek Another Term : Labor: Should the AFL-CIO president run, the union could have its first contested election.

AFL-CIO President Lane Kirkland declined to say Wednesday whether he will seek another term, leaving open the possibility that the labor federation may have its first contested election this fall.

Kirkland’s leadership has been repeatedly discussed in hushed conversations during the annual winter meeting here of the AFL-CIO’s policy-making Executive Council and during an unprecedented 4 1/2-hour closed meeting among the 35 council members Tuesday.

The 72-year-old labor leader told reporters at a news conference that “in the fullness of time” he will decide whether to seek reelection at the 83-union federation’s convention in October.

He said his decision will be announced first to his family, then to his staff and then to the council.

“And I suspect about one microsecond after I tell the executive council, you will learn it,” he added in a pointed reference to recent press reports in which some council members have anonymously criticized his leadership.

Tuesday’s meeting was called to give council members--most of them union presidents--a chance to voice their views about Kirkland’s leadership and discuss whether the AFL-CIO has adequately met the challenges of emboldened employers and a Republican-led Congress that may weaken federal labor laws.

“It was a good meeting,” Kirkland said. “Everyone took the opportunity to speak their minds. I think it was useful, and everybody else did too. More, I can’t tell you.”

Secondhand accounts of the meeting from other union officials varied, with some saying that differences were voiced in a dignified way and others citing harsh exchanges in which Kirkland reminded members what he had done for them.

The officials said they did not know the substance of the exchanges, but they agreed that the meeting did not resolve differences and that the issues will be revisited, possibly at the next two quarterly council meetings.

John Sturdivant, American Federation of Government Employees president, although declining to comment on the substance of the meeting, called it cathartic and said such frank and open exchanges should occur more often.

No candidate has publicly emerged to challenge Kirkland, but Sturdivant said a challenge by someone would be possible should Kirkland decide to seek reelection.

“An election might be fun--instead of a dull, scripted convention,” he said.

There has never been a contested election for either of the federation’s two top offices since the American Federation of Labor merged with the Congress of Industrial Organizations in 1955.

Teamsters Union President Ron Carey said it could take months for the council members to assess the depth and variety of views expressed at the meeting and decide what to do.

Despite the differences, Kirkland said, labor will remain united in pursuing its goals.

“I don’t think labor will be divided,” he said. “We’re united in our purposes and our common objectives. There’s no difference within the ranks on policies and objectives.”