NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — New York City's Democratic nominee for mayor Zohran Mamdani was endorsed by DC 37, the city's largest labor union representing over 150,000 members and 89,000 retirees in the public sector, and played to its membership at a campaign event Tuesday by focusing on his "belief in working people."
Mamdani, a democratic socialist, has run his campaign on a platform of expanded attention to working class New Yorkers with proposed programs like free buses, city-run grocery stores, increased taxes for the wealthy and a rent freeze.
"Because what use is it to go through months of contract negotiations, to win those hard-earned raises, only for you to go back to your rent-stabilized apartment and face an even bigger increase in your rent," Mamdani said at the endorsement event.
DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido welcomed Mamdani's primary win as "a victory for all working class New Yorkers," stating that "we’re proud that DC 37 was one of the first unions to support his candidacy."
"His hard-fought campaign engaged a new generation of voters who are confronting a reality we know too well: the crisis of affordability and accessibility in the city we call home," the statement continued. "Our work is not done, and we look forward to continuing the momentum for pro-labor candidates at the polls in November.”
Mamdani's platform has led some business and finance leaders to predict a mass exodus of wealth from the city in the case of his election. Despite their concerns, he has stated that he hopes to find common ground with these leaders, and will work to quell fears during two days of meetings this week with the Partnership for New York City—a group of 350 members that represent banks, law firms and corporations. Mamdani said that while there is room to disagree, the ultimate goal remains doing what is best for the city.
Garrido responded to these fears at Tuesday's event, stating: "With all due respect, I've heard the idea of power brokers. We are the power brokers."
Moderate Democrats are scrambling to put their support behind one challenger to Mamdani amid a field that includes former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Eric Adams, both of whom seem reluctant to drop their independent campaigns.
Cuomo officially announced his general election campaign on Monday, stating that he is "in it to win it" and calling Mamdani someone who "offers slick slogans, but no real solutions."
Mamdani, who defeated Cuomo by over 12 points in the June 24 Democratic primary, took a swing at Cuomo's record on changing pension plans while speaking to DC 37.
"We cannot ask ourselves why we cannot find the 15,000 workers who could fill the vacant positions today, if we are not willing to answer the question of who created Tier 6," he said.
The democratic socialist has prided himself on running an on-the-ground primary campaign that utilized 50,000 volunteers who knocked on about 1 million doors. He reached the public fundraising cap by the end of March with over 18,000 individual donations.
"We overcame an incredible amount of money that was spent against us," Mamdani said Tuesday. "The most funded Super PAC in New York City's municipal history."