"Our local, as well as other locals that I am aware of, we've always worked closely with the state federation," said Terry Rachiele, vice president of the UFCW's Local 711, which represents about 3,000 workers in Utah. "That's what we're going to continue to do in the future. What's going on nationally, it's not going to affect our working relationship in the state of Utah. We'll still be there for each other and do what we can to support our brother and sister locals, regardless of their affiliation."

And, despite the wrangling at the top, Rachiele said that "the only guidance we've received (from the national UFCW) was to continue on the way we have in the past."

Mayne said he will keep his scheduled appearance at the Teamsters Local 222's Labor Day celebration, and that the united federation will still hold its combined picnic and car show from noon until 5 p.m. today at Magna Park, 2550 S. 8850 West. Both the local Teamsters and UFCW have submitted their August per capita to the AFL-CIO, Mayne added.

"They sent us their August per capita as a good faith gesture on their part, that they want to keep things the way they are in the state of Utah," Mayne said.

However, he conceded, it does raise some logistical issues about what's to be done with the money and how the relationship is to be recognized in an official capacity.

The AFL-CIO's constitution mandates that to belong to the state AFL-CIO and local central bodies, a group has to belong to the national AFL-CIO. Because the three unions split from the AFL-CIO on the national level, it's still a bit murky how they'll work together at the state level.

"I've got to make some decisions with our board about what we're going to do," Mayne said. "And it's not just our board. It's about getting input from the national (AFL-CIO) and it's not just Utah. All over the country, these groups want to maintain their relationship, because they know that this is where the work gets done. This is where the rubber hits the road."

Rachiele said it is too soon to know how the situation will shake out. But in Utah, both sides seem almost defiantly committed to the notion of unity.

"This is not going to change our action or our direction, no matter what happens in Washington," Mayne said. "We will continue to work closely together."

Mayne was one of 42 labor leaders — from Delaware to Hawaii — who signed an "Open Letter About Continued (AFL-CIO) Solidarity at the State and Local Level."

In it, the signers said, "At this time in our history when working people are facing relentless attacks on their standard of living, when employers are intensifying their opposition to the efforts of workers to form unions and when our unions are confronting attempts to destroy their right to engage the political process on behalf of our working families, we need now, more than ever, to maintain our solidarity on the front lines of our movement if we hope to preserve a free and fighting labor movement for working Americans.

"We continue to hear from all of our unions the desire to keep us stronger together at the local level," they wrote. "Where there is that will, there has to be a way for us to do so — just as there needs to be a way to re-unify the labor movement at the national level."

Though the future is unclear, Rachiele said the aftermath of this period of heightened debate will prove positive for the labor movement.

"What it has done is actually to bring people together, closer than they were before," he said. "It opened people's eyes and helped to bring to the forefront what the labor movement is all about. I think when the dust settles, the labor movement will be stronger than it has ever been before."

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E-mail: jnii@desnews.com