Antonio Rosario (left) speaks about Teamsters Local 804’s endorsement of State Sen. Jessica Ramos (second from the right) at a union event on Oct. 8. (Credit: Eleanor Hildebrandt)
As the 2025 mayoral race heats up — with the possibility of an earlier special election — New York City labor unions are already evaluating their options.
Unions representing UPS and Metro-North workers have already come out in support of State Sen. Jessica Ramos, of Queens, who in September declared her candidacy for mayor. Other Democrats running in the primary against embattled Mayor Eric Adams include City Comptroller Brad Lander and State Sen. Zellnor Myrie, of Brooklyn. Former City Comptroller Scott Stringer has also formed an exploratory committee.
“The people that are running know that the city needs someone that’s going to be on the side of labor,” said Antonio Rosario, a lead organizer at Teamsters Local 804, one of the unions supporting Ramos. “The board looked at her whole body of work,” he said. “She’s just been there so many times and has done so much for us.”
“She’s 100% union,” said Osvaldo Lo Verme, president of Teamsters Local 808, the other union supporting Ramos. “She’s very progressive and she’s always been good to the members.”
If Adams chooses to resign due to the current federal indictments and investigations into his administration, or if he is removed from office by Gov. Kathy Hochul, a special election would take place within 90 days of the mayor’s departure. That ranked-choice election would include candidates from all parties.
But no other unions are ready to take a stand.
The United Federation of Teachers (UFT), one of the most influential unions in the city, hasn’t had a formal conversation about a mayoral endorsement, according to Lamar Hughes, a UFT political action coordinator and representative for District 25 in Queens.
“We haven’t grouped together and discussed yet,” he said. “We have to make sure there is a candidate who we and our members — we’re 200,000 strong — can say this is the guy or this is the woman who we will stand by. We want that pillar of strength.”
Hughes said the union will look for a candidate who shares the same agenda as UFT in terms of budgeting, Tier 6 retirement plans and charter schools.
UFT Deputy Press Secretary Alison Gendar and 1199SEIU Press Secretary Rose Ryan said in emails to Labor New York that their organizations are currently focusing on the November general election.
The Freelancers Union is also waiting to see how the race “shapes out” and which other candidates join the race, said Meredith Tannor, its policy director.
“Sen. Jessica Ramos and Comptroller Lander both have a track record of heavily working with labor and ensuring new protections, so I think it [labor] will play a major role in the primaries, but it’s anyone’s game right now,” she said. “We just want to see more from everyone and I’m sure we’re going to.”
32BJ SEIU and District Council 37 (DC 37) declined to comment on their discussions regarding mayoral candidates.
Unions’ endorsements have traditionally played an important role in New York City mayoral elections. Joshua Freeman, a professor at the City University of New York School of Labor and Urban Studies, said 2025 will be no different.
“Endorsements bring resources with them: phone banks, people knocking on doors, campaign contributions,” Freeman said.
In the 2021 primary, Adams received the support of DC 37, 32BJ and the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council. The Police Benevolent Association told its members to rank three candidates, including Adams, in 2021. Before the general election, Adams also got the endorsement of the New York City Central Labor Council.
About the author(s)
Eleanor Hildebrandt, originally from Iowa, is a Stabile investigative fellow at Columbia Journalism School. She was a Fulbright Scholar and has previous bylines in Iowa Capital Dispatch and PolitiFact.