NYC Mayor’s Race: Mamdani nabs support from nearly all major Big Apple unions with latest nod from UFT

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.

Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

Nearly all of the city’s 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, with the latest nod of support coming from the United Federation of Teachers on Tuesday night.

Mamdani celebrated the UFT’s endorsement, following a Tuesday night vote in his favor, by the union’s governing body, alongside its president — Michael Mulgrew — 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 in the crowded Democratic primary that also included former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Mulgrew praised Mamdani as “someone who has spoken and has clearly broken through to the people of this city” — referring to the democratic socialist Assembly member’s resounding primary win on an affordability message.

“The politics of old are no longer working,” Mulgrew said. “Just 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’s the poor, it’s the middle class, who have been getting the shaft throughout, and we’re going to lead the way in this city, because that’s what New York City has always done.”

In his remarks, Mamdani pledged to partner with the union to fully fund New York City’s public schools, fill long-vacant paraprofessional positions, and reform the widely criticized Tier-6 pension system—implemented by Cuomo—that 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.

Mamdani said teachers, parents, and students, “must 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.”

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 — a system that has been in place for over two decades.

“It’s not about choosing between an old system and the current system,” Mamdani said. “It’s about building a system that actually reflects the realities of the city.”

The UFT endorsement of Mamdani is a clear rejection of Mayor Adams, who struck a generous five-year contract with the union in 2023.

It is just the latest union to jump on board with Mamdani’s campaign as he faces off against a field of general election challengers that includes Adams, Republican Curtis Sliwa, independent attorney Jim Walden, and possibly Cuomo. 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.

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, and District Council 37.

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 the Assembly member, following an earlier nod from Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn.

But while the state’s leading Democrats — including Gov. Kathy Hochul and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — have complimented Mamdani’s affordability-focused campaign, they have yet to endorse him.

At the same time, several centrist and right-leaning political and business leaders, such as former Gov. David Paterson, are trying to get Mamdani’s opponents to coalesce behind one candidate who can defeat him.

However, Mamdani appeared unphased by that strategy when reporters asked about it on Wednesday.

“So much of what was suggested is what you would describe as a Democratic primary, which we just went through, and I won that primary by more than 12 points,” Mamdani said. “I won it because of the fact that New Yorkers want a new direction in their politics.”