{"id":422494,"date":"2025-12-03T19:54:18","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T19:54:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/422494\/"},"modified":"2025-12-03T19:54:18","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T19:54:18","slug":"2-nyc-labor-unions-snub-zohran-mamdani-ally-for-city-council-speaker-back-julie-menin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/422494\/","title":{"rendered":"2 NYC labor unions snub Zohran Mamdani ally for City Council speaker, back Julie Menin"},"content":{"rendered":"

The frontrunner in the race to be speaker of the New York City Council<\/a> secured new union endorsements on Monday in the first sign of potential hedging on Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Julie Menin, a Democrat representing Manhattan\u2019s Upper East Side, is a Jewish, pro-Israel moderate, who could counterbalance the self-described democratic socialist <\/a>and staunch Israel critic in city government.<\/p>\n

Menin declared on Wednesday that she had a\u00a0supermajority<\/a>\u00a0of support on the 51-seat council ahead of the Jan. 7 vote. On Monday, she added endorsements from the Transport Workers Union and New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO.<\/p>\n

\u201cThroughout her time in public service, Julie Menin has shown a clear understanding of the challenges facing working people in this city,\u201d Central Labor Council president Brendan Griffith<\/a> wrote<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

City Council Member Julie Menin\u2019s bid to become Council Speaker was endorsed by the Transport Workers Union and New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO. Leonardo Munoz<\/p>\n

The moderate Democrat said she would be a \u201ccheck\u201d on democratic socialist Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Post<\/p>\n

The union \u201clooks forward to working with her and the council to advance policies that make the city more affordable, improve the lives of the people who keep New York running, and strengthen unions and empower the workers they represent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Both unions endorsed Mamdani in the mayoral election. Menin\u2019s main rival \u2014 progressive Democrat Crystal Hudson, who represents Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, on the council \u2014 has conceded the race.<\/p>\n

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Menin is the daughter and granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, and if elected, she would be the first Jewish speaker of the City Council. (The council has previously had Jewish presiding officers under different titles.)<\/p>\n

She has previously backed efforts to\u00a0fund Holocaust education<\/a> in the city,\u00a0described\u00a0a Department of Education newsletter accusing Israel of committing \u201cgenocide\u201d in Gaza<\/a> as \u201cunconscionable\u201d and \u201chate speech\u201d and\u00a0traveled<\/a>\u00a0to Israel in 2024 as part of a solidarity mission led by the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Menin announced last week that she has secured a supermajority of support to become the next Council Speaker. Nancy Kaszerman\/ZUMA \/ SplashNews.com<\/p>\n

Those pro-Israel positions stand in contrast to the mayor-elect, who has repeatedly accused Israel of committing \u201cgenocide\u201d and refuses to march in New York City\u2019s Israel Day parade, an event that Menin\u00a0attends annually.<\/a><\/p>\n

In an interview with\u00a0Politico\u00a0on Monday, Menin declined to say that she would be a \u201ccheck\u201d on Mamdani, focusing instead on where their policy goals overlap.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is widespread agreement within the council that we want to partner on a shared affordability agenda that includes building more affordable housing and enacting universal child care,\u201d Menin told\u00a0Politico. \u201cI think we are very aligned on the shared affordability agenda, and I think there\u2019s additional opportunities that the council has to push the affordability agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n

Local media\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0that Menin expects to announce additional council endorsements on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

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