It hasn’t panned out for the unions. The original plan was that labor would choose one candidate they could unilaterally get behind. Now it’s looking like former councilman Jim Kenney and Senator Anthony Williams will be splitting the pie into messy slices. Kenney first secured the support of John Dougherty and the electricians union, and as of this week he has The National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees District 1199C. Meanwhile, Williams got in with the carpenters union and the Teamsters.

There are a few major players left, so let’s get started. Which candidate will secure the builders?

Pat Gillespie, business manager for the 50,000-member Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council, said that they’re still evaluating the contenders. Each mayoral candidate has been invited to Gillespie’s office to discuss credentials and agendas.

“The problem is that most of the candidates have good track records with labor,” Gillespie said.

Of those he’s spoken with, Jim Kenney was the “most impressive.” Kenney has a good performance history with unions, and his proactive point-to-solutions-not-villains approach has put him in favor with Building Trades. It’s not just about construction workers, either. Gillespie is looking for someone for the city, and he was wowed by Kenney’s passionate response to the educational deficit.

“He had a refreshing and honest and sobering look at education,” Gillespie said. “And he did it extemporaneously. He wasn’t prepped on the issue.”

But then there’s the quiet wildcard — Nelson Diaz. Besides being a personal friend, Gillespie and the judge have a solid working record together on the Convention Center Board of Directors before Gillespie was replaced.

As a side note, Gillespie is open about the fact that he’s “a little jaundiced” towards Anthony Williams for orchestrating his replacement by Edward Coryell Sr., business director of the 8,000-member Carpenter’s District Council. While he believes Williams has a competent mayoral skill set, Gillespie sees his recieved union support (especially from Carpenters) as a “purely political deal.” Diaz, meanwhile, desperately needs a union behind him to stay viable.

The Energy Hub is looming on the horizon for Building Trades. Gillespie has always maintained that his union deals with different supply issues than the other unions, saying that the builders by nature “work themselves out of a job every day.”

A Philadelphia energy hub would be a billion-dollar economic workhorse, and Building Trades is invested in the prospect of such ongoing work. With other players lining up behind Kenney right now, putting all the eggs in Diaz’s basket might be too a risky venture.

“He’s a good leader,” Gillespie said of Diaz. “I know he knows how to get things done, but I don’t know if he has the wherewithal to get elected. I have to sit down with him and talk first, though.”