As November runoff nears, carpenter’s union switches endorsement from Bass to Raman
On Monday, the union representing Los Angeles carpenters announced it would endorse L.A. mayoral candidate Nithya Raman over L.A. Mayor Karen Bass.
Western States Carpenters represents 60,000 carpenters and is now supporting Raman as she seeks to unseat Bass in the November election. The union previously endorsed Bass during her mayoral bid in 2022.
Raman announced the carpenters’ union’s endorsement in a press conference, where she also took the opportunity to address housing affordability.
“I want to see cranes rising all over the city of Los Angeles,” Raman said. “I want to see well-paid union workers breaking ground on tens of thousands of new homes near transit and jobs.”
Meanwhile, her opponent, Bass, was in Koreatown for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the development of a 19-unit affordable housing project for veterans, reaffirming her commitment to housing affordability.
“This development is amazing,” Bass said at the ceremony. “To do it with the neighbors, to do it with the community is the best way housing gets built.”
The mayor’s first executive directive to fast-track affordable housing helped lead to this specific housing project. One aspect of the project is that there is no provision that would require union wages for construction workers after advisors informed Bass that it could increase project costs by up to 20%.
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The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor originally backed Bass and viewed Raman’s last-minute run as a betrayal after she previously supported Bass for mayor, but they don’t necessarily represent a uniform opinion by all labor unions. The carpenters’ union said concerns over Bass’ housing policies, construction rules, the Department of Water and Power, and worker pensions prompted the endorsement switch.
“We know that Los Angeles needs to be built; we get it,” said Pete Rodriguez, Vice President of United Brotherhood of Carpenters. “The plan that was put in place left workers out of the equation.”
Raman, on the other hand, has emphasized her commitment to housing production, faster permitting, construction-related jobs and a more aggressive approach to tackling issues with basic city services, distinguishing her from Bass.
In response to the carpenters’ union endorsement, a campaign spokesperson for Bass released a statement adding that she has an overwhelming amount of support from labor unions.
As Bass and Raman prepare for a Nov. 3 runoff after the June primary, Bass still has a majority of labor unions on her side and Raman has to persuade voters she can do better than the incumbent.