NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — The United Federation of Teachers' endorsed Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for New York City mayor, on Tuesday evening.
The powerful union—which endorsed Mayor Eric Adams in 2021—was holding a rally with Mamdani on Wednesday.
"As a union, we have to protect public education, public employees, and public service from attacks from Washington, DC. We have to make New York City safer and more affordable for working- and middle-class families," UFT President Michael Mulgrew said in a statement Tuesday.
"We have to make the jobs of educators and nurses more attractive with better pay and benefits, and retain those already doing the work. We need a mayor who understands the task before us and who will help us get it done. The UFT Delegate Assembly has determined that Zohran Mamdani can be that partner as the next mayor of New York City," Mulgrew added.
Mamdani responded in a statement posted on X that he was "honored to earn their endorsement."
"We entrust our city's future to the nearly 200,000 teachers, paraprofessionals, counselors and more of the UFT. Now more than ever, they need a mayor who recognizes their value and has their backs," Mamdani wrote.
Mamdani won New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary in a stunning upset over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Mamdani ran on a platform that included opening city-run grocery stores, making buses free, freezing rent on rent-stabilized apartments, and raising property taxes on "richer and whiter neighborhoods." If he wins, he would become the city’s furthest-left mayor in modern history.