Posts tagged Zohran Mamdani
Teachers’ Union Boss Vows ‘All-Out-War’ if Mamdani Doesn’t Back Bonuses
July 27, 2026 // The legislation would cost New York City $325 million. The Citizens Budget Commission, a nonpartisan watchdog group that opposes the bill, warned that it would set a “dangerous precedent” by encouraging unions to bypass the bargaining table and appeal directly to lawmakers.
Nurses and teachers unions bankroll leftist candidates and causes
July 21, 2026 // Additionally, the AFT donated $150,000 to Gov. Tina Kotek’s (D-OR) reelection campaign on the eve of the May primary. Kotek then decided in June to opt Oregon out of the Trump administration’s school choice program, which would subsidize scholarships for K-12 students to cover the cost of private school tuition and homeschooling expenses. AFT has been lobbying Democratic governors to reject the education tax credits offered by the program, calling it a “private school voucher scheme.” Meanwhile, the Oregon Education Association declined to endorse Kotek, despite doing so in the past, out of frustration with the state’s school funding levels.
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.”
New constitution, 32-hour workweek, noncitizen voting: What’s in the DSA platform
July 7, 2026 // The Democratic Socialists of America platform calls for ambitious reforms, including the adoption of a new constitution and allowing noncitizens to vote, according to its program for 2025 and 2026. Socialists have been on the rise after candidates such as Melat Kiros and Darializa Avila Chevalier beat longtime Democratic incumbents and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani defeated the Democratic establishment in last year's mayoral race.
Dream Team of Three Congressional Primary Winners Joins UAW Union Rally for Columbia University Researchers
July 5, 2026 // Three recently elected Democratic nominees for Congress — Darializa Avila Chevalier, Claire Valdez and Brad Lander — spoke at a Tuesday rally for CPW-UAW Local 4100, the union that represents 1,600 postdoctoral workers at Columbia University. The lunchtime rally was held in a pedestrian plaza outside the university’s massive medical center in Washington Heights. Drawing over 200 participants, it took place on the day CPW-UAW’s current contract was set to expire and right before a bargaining session between the union and Columbia. As of Wednesday afternoon, the university and the union have yet to settle on a new contract.
A Mamdani-inspired democratic socialist swayed FL unions against a Dem incumbent
July 1, 2026 // Florida’s largest federation of labor unions, the Florida AFL-CIO, has endorsed all of the state’s sitting Democratic members of Congress who are up for reelection - except for Jared Moskowitz. The move comes after democratic socialist and labor union organizer Oliver Larkin worked to sway delegates at the federation’s annual mid-June endorsement convention against Moskowitz, who has represented parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties since 2023.
Opinion: The Socialists Are Coming for Your Grandparents
June 29, 2026 // Turns out, the answer lies in betraying the faith the elderly have in historically trusted institutions, such as government labor unions. Leaders like Becky Pringle can start with a light touch of anti-establishment rhetoric about protecting education, and then a few years later can bluntly call for fighting the Trump administration. The picture of her praising Mamdani on BlueSky is the next warning sign. In a few years, we shouldn’t be surprised to see the NEA glorify socialism by name.
Op-ed: Kathy Hochul’s Get-Past-November Budget
May 28, 2026 // Now for the category of making the state less affordable: Democrats reversed some of the state’s 2012 pension reforms. Teachers hired since those reforms will now be able to retire at age 58, instead of 63. The budget also slashes employee contributions to their pensions, and allows police and firefighters to count more overtime pay toward their pension calculations. These pension sweeteners are expected to cost the state and local governments $557 million a year. That will invariably mean higher taxes down the road. Democrats are helping Mr. Mamdani pay for them by allowing the city to re-amortize its pension liabilities, which will save $2.3 billion between this and next year while increasing costs in the long run by $5 billion.
NYC hotel maids now make more than rookie cops, firefighters, teachers — as union averts strike following new salary agreement
May 27, 2026 // Hotel maids in NYC already out-earn rookie cops, firefighters and even teachers with master’s degrees — and they just got a raise. The Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, the union representing 22,000 city hotel workers, ratified the new contract Thursday that will bring housekeepers to $77,113 on July 1 with $110,000 in salary alone in the sixth year. The agreement made last weekend with the hotel owners averted a strike that was already throwing a wrench into the city’s America 250 celebrations and the FIFA World Cup as visitors said they were afraid to make reservations if a strike was at hand.
Commentary: Mamdani Misreads What Gig Workers Want
May 21, 2026 // Arranged scheduling cuts directly against what gig workers value most: flexibility. More than 60 percent cite it as the main reason they chose this work, and few are interested in traditional, prescheduled jobs. They’re also more concerned about the lack of benefits than about wage rates. These realities underscore the wrongheadedness of Mamdani’s anti-gig campaign. A better approach would preserve flexible hours while expanding access to benefits. One promising model is a portable benefits system, in which workers and companies contribute to SEP IRA–style accounts that can be used to purchase health insurance, paid leave, or retirement plans. Numerous states—red and blue alike, from Tennessee to Maryland to Pennsylvania—have enacted portable-benefits systems for gig workers in recent years.