![\"Democratic](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/DSC_3784.jpg\" "\\"NYC")
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Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani rallies with United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew and union members after the group endorses him. Wednesday, July 9, 2025.<\/p>\n
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell<\/p>\n
Nearly all of the city\u2019s most powerful unions have now consolidated behind Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani as he vies to topple Mayor Eric Adams in the November general election<\/a>, with the latest nod of support coming from the United Federation of Teachers on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n Mamdani celebrated the UFT\u2019s endorsement, following a Tuesday night vote in his favor, by the union\u2019s governing body, alongside its president \u2014 Michael Mulgrew \u2014 and rank-and-file members at its Manhattan headquarters on July 9. The powerful union, which represents 200,000 members including public school teachers and other education professionals, backed Mamdani after declining to endorse a candidate<\/a> in the crowded Democratic primary that also included former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.<\/p>\n Mulgrew praised Mamdani as \u201csomeone who has spoken and has clearly broken through to the people of this city\u201d \u2014 referring to the democratic socialist Assembly member\u2019s resounding primary win on an affordability message<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe politics of old are no longer working,\u201d Mulgrew said. \u201cJust giving a little bit so people can continue just to get by does not work. It is time for the city to say to everyone across this country, that is the workers, it\u2019s the poor, it\u2019s the middle class, who have been getting the shaft throughout, and we\u2019re going to lead the way in this city, because that\u2019s what New York City has always done.\u201d<\/p>\n In his remarks, Mamdani pledged to partner with the union to fully fund New York City\u2019s public schools, fill long-vacant paraprofessional positions, and reform the widely criticized Tier-6 pension system<\/a>\u2014implemented by Cuomo\u2014that significantly reduced benefits for public employees. He added that he wants to have a more collaborative and less oppositional relationship with the union than past mayors.<\/p>\n Mamdani said teachers, parents, and students, \u201cmust be partners in the way that we lead our education policy across the city, because ultimately, it is those New Yorkers who oftentimes know the exact answers as to what is plaguing our schools, what policies could fix those schools.\u201d<\/p>\n Mamdani also appeared to suggest that he wants to move away from mayoral control, in which the mayor chooses a chancellor who runs the public schools \u2014 a system that has been in place for over two decades.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not about choosing between an old system and the current system,\u201d Mamdani said. \u201cIt\u2019s about building a system that actually reflects the realities of the city.\u201d<\/p>\n The UFT endorsement of Mamdani is a clear rejection of Mayor Adams, who struck a generous five-year contract with the union in 2023<\/a>.<\/p>\n It is just the latest union to jump on board with Mamdani\u2019s campaign<\/a> as he faces off against a field of general election challengers that includes Adams, Republican Curtis Sliwa, independent attorney Jim Walden, and possibly Cuomo<\/a>. Adams and the ex-governor both hold independent ballot lines after the former opted out of the Democratic primary and the latter was soundly defeated in the contest by Mamdani.<\/p>\n The Democratic nominee has also received the backing of 32BJ SEIU and the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, which both endorsed Cuomo in the primary. Additionally, he has support from the New York State Nurses Association, New York City Central Labor Council<\/a>, and District Council 37.<\/p>\n The Democratic Party establishment is slowly falling in line behind Mamdani as well. On Monday night, the Manhattan Democratic Party and its chair Keith Wright endorsed<\/a> the Assembly member, following an earlier nod from Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn.<\/p>\n But while the state\u2019s leading Democrats \u2014 including Gov. Kathy Hochul and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries \u2014 have complimented Mamdani\u2019s affordability-focused campaign, they have yet to endorse him.<\/p>\n