The Police Benevolent Association (PBA) is using Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ own words against Mayor Zohran Mamdani as the union fights for a new contract for NYPD officers.

amNewYork has learned that the union representing tens of thousands of rank-and-file cops will drive a billboard truck through Manhattan on July 4, particularly in areas with heavy police patrols, playing a campaign video featuring Mamdani discussing policing with Sanders during the mayoral campaign.

In the video, Sanders, whom Mamdani often refers to as an political mentor, recounts his experience as mayor of Burlington, VT, where he granted police officers a 9% pay increase.

“We talked to the Burlington Patrolman’s Association Police Union. And we said, look, I said, you know, it’s a difficult job being a cop. And we talked about it,” Sanders says in the video.

At the video’s conclusion, the union flashes a banner reading, “Mayor Mamdani: Bernie did it… Why won’t you?”

The campaign comes as the PBA continues to push for a new labor contract after its previous agreement expired on Aug. 1, 2025. The union is seeking raises that would bring NYPD officers’ salaries in line with those of New York State Troopers, who also police New York City.

According to the PBA, state troopers currently earn about 7.9% more in base salary than NYPD officers, with that gap projected to grow to 11.13% by 2028.

During Sanders’ run as mayor in Vermont, he addressed officer retention, an issue that has become increasingly relevant for the NYPD, which continues to lose mid-career officers to higher-paying police departments in the surrounding region, sources say.

After two unsuccessful rounds of bargaining under the Mamdani administration and two more under the previous Adams administration, the PBA says the city has yet to present a wage proposal, prompting the union to take its dispute public.

“Mayor Mamdani campaigned as a champion for working people, but when it comes to the police officers who work for him, he hasn’t practiced what he preached. We’ve been out of contract for nearly a year, and it is absolutely insulting that the mayor and his team refuse to even make us an offer,” PBA President Patrick Hendry said. “He needs to listen to the advice that Senator Bernie Sanders gave him and treat police officers with respect, like other working people. If he doesn’t do that, we’re going to continue losing hundreds of cops a month, and public safety will suffer.”

Sources familiar with the negotiations said that because the city has not submitted a wage proposal, the PBA filed a Declaration of Impasse with the state’s Public Employment Relations Board on June 15, requesting the board’s assistance in resolving the contract dispute.

The latest escalation follows the PBA’s criticism of Mayor Mamdani’s decision not to include an increase in NYPD headcount in the city’s adopted budget.

amNewYork reached out to the mayor’s office for comment and is awaiting a response.