While the city’s Central Labor Council has voiced its initial support for Brian McLaughlin as the assemblyman, who is its president, faces federal racketeering charges, the founder of a union advocacy group says the AFL-CIO should launch its own investigation into Mr. McLaughlin’s alleged actions.

“This is one of the pretty outrageous accusations of corruption by a highly placed labor official” the founder and secretary-treasurer of the Association for Union Democracy, Herman Benson, said. Founded in 1969, the association has fought corruption in unions and is known for supporting dissident movements in the past.

Mr. McLaughlin “should be called to account, not just by the government, but by the laws of the AFL-CIO itself,” Mr. Benson said.

If the criminal allegations against Mr. McLaughlin are true, he said, the labor leader would also have violated the ethics code of the AFL-CIO. The New York City Central Labor Council, of which Mr. McLaughlin is president, is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO.

A spokesman for the state AFL-CIO, Mario Cilento, declined comment. In a statement issued Tuesday, the state AFL-CIO president, Denis Hughes, cautioned against prejudging Mr. McLaughlin and said “he will be afforded the opportunity to respond to and defend himself against these allegations.” Mr. Hughes is also the chairman of the executive board of the city’s Central Labor Council.

Mr. McLaughlin, a Democratic state assemblyman representing parts of Queens, on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to 44 counts that included charges of racketeering, embezzlement, money laundering, and fraud. He faces decades of jail time if convicted.

A day after the charges were announced, some union leaders were reluctant to comment on Mr. McLaughlin while others expressed a mix of support and concern.

“I’m presuming him innocent until he has his day in court,” the president of the Fire Alarm Dispatchers Benevolent Association, David Rosenzweig, said.”He’s always been fair and good to the labor group.”

Bill Pelletier, an executive board member of the Transport Workers Union Local 100 who helped lead a dissident group against its president, Roger Toussaint, said he was also in Mr. McLaughlin’s corner. “Brian McLaughlin, in my book, was a fine man,”Mr. Pelletier said.”It’s unfortunate the government is going after him.”

Among the myriad accusations against Mr. McLaughlin is that he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from the labor council and another union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 3. While he took a sixmonth leave of absence from the labor council starting last month, he is still receiving a salary. “If somebody brought charges against me, I would take myself off the payroll,” Mr. Pelletier said, although he added that he didn’t object to Mr. McLaughlin getting paid.

The indictment of Mr. McLaughlin comes at a precarious time for the labor movement in the city. Transit workers faced widespread criticism for shutting down subways and buses with a threeday strike last December, a move that drew heavy fines to the union and sent Mr. Toussaint to jail. And amid rising pension and healthcare costs, the city and state governments have sought concessions from public employee unions during several recent contract negotiations.

“It’s very sad because it’s a time when the labor movement has to circle the wagons and support working people,” the president of Teamsters 805, Alexandra Pope, said. She leads about 1,200 warehouse distribution workers. “We’re getting battered,” she said.