Posts tagged New York City
Scoop: Mamdani’s bid for 2028 kingmaker
November 9, 2026 // With Ocasio-Cortez's future a question mark, some progressives are beginning to look elsewhere for a presidential candidate. Some on the left hope Abdul El-Sayed, the incoming senator in Michigan, will take a look at 2028. Others are lining up behind California Rep. Ro Khanna, who's widely expected to run. Bhaskar Sunkara, a 2020 Sanders surrogate and president of the liberal publication The Nation, wrote an op-ed last summer calling for Ocasio-Cortez to run for president.
Mamdani and City Council Speaker Julie Menin strike deal to ban NYC horse carriage industry
October 14, 2026 // Ultimately, Mamdani — a democratic socialist who has positioned himself as a friend of organized labor — came around to backing the bill because the latest version includes several new labor safeguards, according to the speaker’s office. Under the updated bill, which was shared with POLITICO, the city must create a workforce transition program under which carriage drivers would receive career counseling as well as referrals to employment opportunities in both public and private sectors, including with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, local sight-seeing bus companies and pedicab operators.
Op-ed: Hospital Strikes Should Be Illegal
October 7, 2026 // Hospital workers should not be legally permitted to withhold their critical labor from the patients who need them just because their union has a disagreement with management. If railroad workers can’t do it and public employees can’t do it, hospital workers should not be able to do it either. Congress should amend the National Labor Relations Act to prohibit strikes by hospital employees.
20 healthcare strikes in 2026
September 28, 2026 // Union activity in healthcare continues in 2026, with 20 reported strikes since the beginning of the year. Some of these actions involve healthcare workers and leaders across hospitals and clinics in multiple states.
Union workers at Seattle Hilton reach deal to end 85-day strike
September 17, 2026 // The new contract comes as rising operational costs, including labor, continue to impact the hotel industry. Hotel owners and operators have previously expressed concerns about how rising wages might affect total revenue and hotel profitability. In New York City in May, union members of the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council ratified a new contract with the Hotel Association of New York, averting strikes ahead of the World Cup.
Uber drivers say Waymo robotaxis are driving down their pay
August 31, 2026 // The Atlanta Rideshare Drivers Union is claiming that drivers have reported lower pay, longer waits between rides, and fewer fares since Waymo began offering its service in the city last June, Axios reports. As such, the union is calling on city and state leaders to curb Waymo’s expansion — and to consider some measures to easen its disruptive effects on their livelihoods.
Mamdani goes after Amazon — and shows off his stunning hypocrisy
August 20, 2026 // While Mamdani seeks to prohibit Amazon’s delivery contracting model, his administration used an outside company to supply 109 temporary professionals to handle homeless services under an $8.46 million renewal that ran through June 30. It also renewed an $11 million citywide trucking contract that supplies outside drivers and labor. In both cases, private companies employed their own workers who then performed the necessary work — the same model that Mamdani condemns at Amazon.
Opinion: I was NYC’s first female lifeguard chief. Here’s a way to save lives.
August 10, 2026 // For nearly two decades, the roles of citywide lifeguard coordinator and president of the city’s lifeguard supervisors’ union were held by one man, Peter Stein. During my time as a chief lifeguard, I watched as Stein abused his privileges and retaliated against those who opposed him, all while the Parks Department turned a blind eye. Last year, Stein finally retired — and the city has a chance to fix what has gone wrong.
5 largest healthcare strikes in 2026, involving 76,000 workers
August 7, 2026 // Healthcare strikes in 2026 have drawn in tens of thousands of workers across hospitals, health systems and home care settings, with disputes centering on wages, staffing and contract terms. Becker’s has tracked 17 strikes so far this year.
Hochul Extends Program to Hire Government Workers Faster. Mamdani Opts Out.
July 9, 2026 // But opting into NY HELPS could risk blowback from city unions like DC37 and the United Federation of Teachers, which are generally allied with the pro-labor mayor and were among the unions that sued to block Adams’s attempt. “We have thousands of workers already on the civil service list who have taken the exams, who have gone through the process of paying the fee, who have taken all the necessary requirements to qualify,” DC37 executive director Henry Garrido said of NY HELPS at an April City Council hearing. “It’s not fair to those people who have done so.”