Inside Report (5)

Organized labor has close ties to the Democratic Party - but that doesn't mean Republicans can't win union support.

Take moderate GOP Sen. John Heinz. He has won a reelection endorsement from the Pennsylvania state AFL-CIO - even though several unions wanted the nomination to go to Democrat Cyril Wecht. Heinz has a 66 percent pro-labor voting record in the eyes of the AFL-CIO. In 1981, however, he supported the Reagan economic program, a position that should have disqualified him from backing by the labor federation.

But building trades, and clothing and textile unions, among others, decided that Heinz softened that position when he called for a ''midterm correction'' in administration policy. They swung theirsupport to Heinz largely because of his tough stance on restricting imports, an important issue in Pennsylvania.