Mamdani picks up key endorsement from United Federation of Teachers in race for NYC mayor
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- The United Federation of Teachers union has endorsed New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani in his biggest endorsement yet.
With a little more than 100 days to go until Election Day, the union has voted to back Mamdani over current Mayor Eric Adams.
The UFT is the city's second largest union. It has 200,000 members and represents the city's teachers and other educational professionals
"This is the campaign of working people. This is the campaign of organized labor and this is the campaign that will win in November," Mamdani said.
Mamdani is himself a graduate of the elite Bronx High School of Science He is a staunch opponent of charter schools and has promised to hire more teachers if elected mayor.
The union president praised Mamdani for his stance on affordability and his stated willingness to increase funding for public education in New York.
"This is a real crisis and it's a moment for our city, and our city is starting to speak out very loudly," said UFT President Michael Mulgrew. "The voters are saying the same thing, 'Enough is enough.' The income gap disparity is above that, which we have seen that which we saw during the Gilded Age."
For nearly 20 years, New York's school system has been controlled by the mayor. Mamdani wants to share power with a diverse coalition.
"We need a system that understands teachers, students, parents as being part of the way in which we deliver the educational policy of the city," Mamdani said.
Since winning the Democratic primary, Mamdani has gained the support of several unions that once backed Andrew Cuomo. The teachers' union is among the most powerful and did not endorse in the primary because its leaders were split.
The UFT now joins the Hotel Trades Council, the New York State Nurses Association, SEIU 32BJ and the New York City Central Labor Council among the major unions supporting Mamdani.
Mamdani describes himself as a democratic socialist. But Tuesday, President Donald Trump incorrectly labeled Mamdani a "communist" and suggested that he would somehow take over the city if Mamdani were elected.
"If a communist gets elected to run New York, it can never be the same. But we have tremendous power at the White House to run places when we have to," Trump said.
Mamdani dismissed the threat, to a point.
"Public education at large is under attack from an authoritarian administration in Washington, D.C.," he said. "Donald Trump would love nothing more than to continue to hack away at one of the beacons of light in our city, which is our education system."
The biggest single union in New York is DC 37, which endorsed Council speaker Adrienne Adams in the primary, and has yet to endorse in the general election.
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