Teamsters locals are first unions to endorse for mayor

Eight months before what is shaping up to be a consequential primary, two Teamsters locals have already made their choice for mayor clear. 

Representatives from International Brotherhood of the Teamsters locals 804 and 808 this week gathered at 808’s Long Island City union hall to endorse State Senator Jessica Ramos, the chair of the that chamber's Labor Committee. In doing so, they became the first two labor unions representing workers in New York City to endorse a candidate.

Among the bills and initiatives Ramos has shepherded that received the support of the two Teamsters locals are last years’ legislation increasing the minimum wage and the Warehouse Worker Protection Act, which directly benefited the United Parcel Service warehouse workers in Local 804. She’s also pushed Teamster-supported legislation to protect workers from extreme temperatures and another bill aimed at preventing warehouse workers from sustaining injuries on the job.  

But Chris Silvera, the secretary treasurer of Local 808, said that while Ramos’ “meaningful” actions in Albany were a major factor in the local’s backing of the Queens lawmaker, her labor background and the relationship she’s built with the Teamsters in the last two decades were just as important. Ramos’ commitment to unions and the working class, he said, sets her apart from the many “political hacks and political players” he’s met in 34 years as Local 808’s secretary-treasurer.  

“I met her when she was a contributor in a meaningful way on the grassroots level,” Silvera said at the union hall. “She’s always remaining loyal to the working class.”  

Among other pro-worker and pro-labor bills Ramos has pushed for are safety protections for construction, retail and warehouse workers, improved unemployment benefits for immigrant workers and harsher penalties for wage theft.  

Ramos also has a background working for prominent unions in the city; spending three years as a communications staffer for Local 371 of District Council 37, the Social Service Employees Union, and four with Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ.

‘She shows up’ 

Silvera represents around 1,500 members, half of whom, like the longtime union leader, work as track maintainers for Metro-North Railroad. The other half of the membership are building service workers at Peter Cooper Village and several other communities. 

Local 804, a much larger local, represents more than 8,000 drivers, warehouse workers and other UPS employees across the five boroughs and Long Island.  

Josh Pomeranz, Local 804’s director of operations, said after announcing the endorsement that Ramos “has been so consistent and unwavering in her support for working people.”  

“There is no question that she will be a good mayor for working New Yorkers.” 

Tony Rosario, a former UPS driver who is now an organizer in Local 804, said that Ramos has advocated for fired Local 804 members and attended rallies during the union’s contract campaign last summer.  

“She shows up every time we need her,” he told the union officials and members Tuesday. “I am definitely in favor of [Ramos] and all she’s done for us, and I know the rest of 804 is too.”  

Ramos said that the two early labor endorsements “show New Yorkers who I am, that I have the best intentions for working families and that I’m going to work as hard every day as they do." 

“I’m the real labor candidate in this race,” she said.

In another sign of her focus on the labor vote, Ramos has hired Charlene Obernauer, the former executive director of the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health, as her campaign manager.  

The contest to be the Democratic Party’s standard bearer — and, as seems increasingly probable, the city’s next mayor — is still some distance away, and the race’s dynamics are sure to shift. 

Much, of course, will depend on whether Mayor Eric Adams is among those vying for the nomination. Should he resign in the wake of his federal corruption indictment or be forced for office, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams would take his place and quickly schedule a nonpartisan special election to be held within 80 days. If Adams leaves office after March 25, Williams would serve out the rest of his term and the June primary and November general election would go ahead as scheduled. 

Another potential scrambler to the race would be the entry of former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is said to be plotting a comeback from his 2021 resignation. 

Silvera, the Local 808 leader, said that he would never support Cuomo because of the former governor’s difficult relationship with the Working Families Party and his periodic “threats” to certain unions. 

He doesn’t think the city has gotten better under Adams either, but believes that Ramos could make a difference. 

“She has never wavered,” Silvera said. “It’s time for New York not to elect a billionaire, not to elect a popular politician, but to elect someone who came up through a union." 

dfreeman@thechiefleader.com