The United Federation of Teachers’ delegate assembly has voted to endorse Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayor’s race.
The delegate assembly is the UFT’s highest decision-making body.
“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. 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,” UFT president Michael Mulgrew said in a statement.
Mamdani is set to celebrate the endorsement Wednesday morning at a news conference with Mulgrew.
Tuesday, Mamdani was also endorsed by the Manhattan Democratic Party. These were the latest in a string of endorsements for Mamdani. Last week, he garnered the endorsements of the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, New York State Nurses Association and New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO.
The endorsements come as former New York Gov. David Paterson called on Eric Adams and Andrew Cuomo to shake up the mayor’s race by unifying to defeat Mamdani, suggesting one of them bow out so the other can set up a clear challenge to Mamdani and avoid splitting the vote.
Neither Adams nor Cuomo seemed eager to embrace the suggestion of bowing out to clear the path for the other.
“I said, ‘Andrew, are you that level of arrogance? I’m the sitting mayor. I’m the sitting mayor of the city of New York and you expect for me to step aside when you just lost to Zohran by 12 points?'” Adams said Monday.
“We do not see any path to victory for Mayor Adams. This is the time to put aside the usual political selfishness and agree to do what is truly best for all New Yorkers. While we review this proposal, we call on other candidates to do the same,” a Cuomo campaign spokesperson said.
Mamdani’s campaign, meandwhile, responded to Paterson’s proposal with this statement:
“More than 545,000 New Yorkers voted for Zohran Mamdani, the most votes any Democratic primary candidate has received in 36 years. In the coming months, Zohran looks forward to growing this coalition and reaching new voters with his vision for an affordable New York City and his plan to deliver universal childcare, fast and free buses, and a rent-freeze for more than 2 million New Yorkers,” Mamdani’s campaign said.