A worker first, unionist second, Valdez seeks Queens Assembly seat

The worst part of working at the combination Taco Bell and Pizza Hut Express was pumping hot water through the nacho cheese dispenser at closing. 

Mistreatment from customers, the constant threat of injuries and the minimum-wage pay were bad too, but when she worked at a Lubbock, Texas, location in 2008 and 2009, Claire Valdez dreaded nothing more than cleaning out that cheese dispenser.  

“You're just working with a bunch of slop out of hot sources,” Valdez said of her time working at the fast-food restaurant the two summers after she graduated from high school. “You were always risking being burned quite severely on the job.” 

While the job didn’t have much upside, Valdez did get firsthand experience with a key ingredient of the workplace that, years later, she would further cultivate when she became a union member: solidarity. “Everyone was treated like shit so there was a sense of solidarity even if there was a difference in power and pay scale,” she said in a recent interview. 

Now a member of the United Auto Workers, the solidarity she experienced in her job back home, and in those she held after that, remains top of mind for Valdez as she runs for a Queens Assembly seat.

‘Completely changed my life’ 

Valdez eventually left the Lone Star State to study at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago – where she split her time working at Trader Joe’s and for a nonprofit – and then moved to Queens to work at SculptureCenter, a museum in Long Island City. As the operations manager at the small museum, she was once again getting her hands dirty by unclogging toilets and fixing broken sinks. 

But the job was more meaningful than her previous ones and it worked as a stepping stone to her current role as a program assistant in the visual arts program at Columbia University. It was when she got that job that Valdez joined a union, Local 2110 of the UAW. 

That was the first time that Valdez, who grew up in a Republican right-to-work state with a non-union family, had experienced an organized workplace. From the first union meeting, she was hooked.  

“It felt really powerful to be in a room full of a bunch of other people who are fighting for something we all needed like better pay and better benefits,” she said. "My union membership completely changed my life and I feel so indebted to the labor movement for that reason." 

Recruited by a coworker, Valdez joined her union’s bargaining committee in late 2021. A year later, Valdez won the election to become unit chair for Columbia's administrative employees. She was now in a leadership role that necessitated uniting her coworkers, whatever their differences. 

“Being a unit chair in Claire’s position, it centers oneself in worker politics and understanding the importance and the struggles that the working class face,” said Zach Valdez, the coworker who had recruited her for the bargaining committee. 

But even before she took on the role of unit chair, Valdez was asked by the Democratic Socialists of America — of which she was an active member — to run for the Queens Assembly seat being vacated by the retiring Catherine Nolan. She declined. But two years later, after winning her union post, engaging in reform efforts within the UAW and working as a field coordinator for a DSA electoral campaign in a neighboring district, Valdez decided to throw her hat in the ring. 

She announced her campaign in conjunction with Region 9A of the UAW announcing its endorsement of her candidacy. Hours later, DSA also endorsed her. 

Valdez, chair of her UAW unit at Columbia University, won the Democratic primary for a Queens Assembly seat last month. Courtesy @claireforqueens

@claireforqueens

‘Support a labor champion’ 

By the time of Claire Valdez’s entrance into the race, Juan Ardila, who won the seat in 2022, had lost nearly all of his support from the local Democratic Party apparatus, labor unions and community groups after he was accused of sexual misconduct by two women. But Ardila refused to step down. The June primary would be a three-way contest.

Also seeking the seat was Johanna Carmona, an attorney who had run against Ardila 2022. To Valdez’s frustration, Carmona received endorsements from a bevy of powerful local unions, including District Council 37, the United Federation of Teachers, several trade unions and the New York State affiliate of the AFL-CIO. Valdez said it was bewildering to have labor unions support a non-union candidate instead of “labor supporting labor.” 

 Although she expects that there were some behind-the-scenes political machinations leading to the endorsements, Valdez sees the dynamics of her race as a microcosm of a larger division within the labor movement. Reformist unions such as the UAW have endorsed left-wing candidates and causes like a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, while “the more conservative and more establishment unions” tend not to stray from mainstream Democratic Party stances, Valdez said.

"I think there's some reticence from unions in New York City to back DSA candidates,” Valdez said. “I think there's some hesitancy to buck the Democratic establishment." 

 Aaron Eisenberg, the political director of UAW Region 9A, which covers New York City, Long Island and New England, agreed with Valdez about the political dynamics at play. The election “has been a battle within labor, and that was partly why we had to double and triple down on Claire's race and why we had to turn out our members in support.” 

Valdez, though, did secure some union support, including from the Communication Workers of America, Local 161 of The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and the Committee of Interns and Residents, part of the Service Employees International Union. But her most prominent labor endorsement came from the UAW’s president, Shawn Fain.

“Our union is proud to have members like [Claire Valdez] running for office to fight for social and economic justice for working people,” Fain wrote in a May tweet. He encouraged union members to canvas for her and “support a labor champion.”  

As a UAW member, Valdez joined in on the efforts in 2022 to get Fain elected and was surprised when she received his endorsement, saying that it "meant everything to me.” 

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also backed and campaigned with her.

Claire Valdez received an endorsement from U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ahead of the June primary. Courtesy @claireforqueens

@claireforqueens

Eisenberg, said that Fain’s endorsement “gave credence to the fact that the labor movement writ large cared about Claire, as well as the UAW.” It wasn’t enough to convince many unions to endorse Claire, but it did drive both UAW and DSA members to donate and help canvas.

In June, Valdez won the Democratic primary in Assembly District 37 with over 58 percent of the vote, 27 points over Carmona. Ardila came in a distant third. 

No challenger

Now that the primary is over, some of the unions that endorsed Carmona have already reached out to schedule meetings with Valdez, who will be the runaway favorite in November’s general election. "What feels important to me now is building relationships with unions that may not have endorsed me in the primary,” Valdez said. “It’s about demonstrating that I will be a partner to them and that there is a real need for unions to be standing for progressive candidates that are fighting for universal programs that will help all workers." 

The state AFL-CIO said that Valdez ran a strong campaign.  

“We congratulate Claire Valdez on her primary victory,” Mario Cilento, the federation's president, said in a statement. “An endorsement will be considered at our convention in August and will require two-thirds of the support of our affiliates.” 

There’s no challenger for the November general election yet, and Valdez’s union colleagues sense her role organizing and leading her union is perfect preparation for Albany’s occasional barroom politics. 

"Being a unit chair means you listen to people's concerns and translate them into action,” said Olga Brudastova, the president of Local 2110. 

Zach Valdez, her Columbia coworker, said that Claire is "an organizer and that's a crucial thing that will help her." 

“I know that Claire is fighting for a better future for all of us,” he continued. "I've seen her do that in her union and I really respected to be able to work for her and fight for a better union, and I know that she'll be able to continue to fight at the state level." 

Reflecting on her primary victory, Valdez said if she makes it to Albany next year, she’ll champion the UAW’s political agenda and support legislation that creates affordable housing, supports workers and addresses climate change. She’ll be prepared because of her work in the union teaching her “how to be diplomatic with your members and antagonistic and confrontational with the boss,” Valdez argued. 

What may help her even more though, is her experience toiling over gooey cheese dispensers and cleaning toilets.

"I've always identified as a worker before I identified as anything else,” Valdez said. “I think it's really important that we are running candidates that come from the working class and know what it is to stand up to their boss." 

hfreeman@thechiefleader.com

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