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Unions rally in support of Harris, Walz

Firefighter union witholds endorsement

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Hundreds of union workers and officials rallied outside of City Hall on Wednesday in a show of support for Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Governor Tim Walz. 

Since Harris became the Democratic Party’s standard bearer following President Joe Biden’s July exit from the race, endorsements from labor organizations have poured in, including from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the parent union of District Council 37.  

Henry Garrido, DC 37’s executive director, said it was "important to show we have massive support here in New York” for the Democratic ticket.

"New Yorkers have a lot of family members in Florida and other places and it's important for them to hear from us,” he told The Chief. “I have family living in Pennsylvania and in Virginia and I want to make sure they know that we reaffirm our support for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz." 

Garrido attended the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August, where he introduced Governor Kathy Hochul who then officially pledged New York State’s delegates to Harris and Walz. The next month, Walz, a former teacher and union member, gave a 20-minute keynote speech at the AFSCME convention attended by Garrido and many of the AFSCME leaders present at Wednesday’s rally. 

Garrido, replicating his convention role, introduced Hochul Wednesday. The governor, noting the vice president’s labor ties, said Harris “will be a great leader.”  

“I know that New York State will do the right thing and put Kamala Harris and Tim Walz over the top,” she said. 

Other union leaders also spoke, among them James Davis, the president of the Professional Staff Congress of the City University of New York, Vinny Alvarez, the head of the city’s Central Labor Council, and Gloria Middleton, the president of Local 1180 of the Communication Workers of America. 

Henry Garrido, center, with two District Council 37 vice presidents on Wednesday. Duncan Freeman/The Chief
Henry Garrido, center, with two District Council 37 vice presidents on Wednesday. Duncan Freeman/The Chief

IAFF, others decline support

Despite the overwhelming support from labor that Democrats have received in recent weeks and months, several unions with members in New York declined to endorse the vice president’s run for the White House.  

The International Association of Fire Fighters, the parent union of both the Uniformed Firefighters Association and the Uniformed Fire Officers Association, declined to endorse either Donald Trump or Harris after both Walz and Trump’s running mate Senator JD Vance, spoke at their convention in Boston. The IAFF, a longtime ally of President Joe Biden, endorsed the Democrat in the 2020 race more than a year and a half before balloting began. 

The union’s executive board voted by a 1.2-percent margin not to endorse any candidate this election cycle after polling its members, hosting town halls and focus groups and sending both candidates questionnaires. But the International Association of Black Professional Firefighters —  which has members in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and elsewhere — announced this week that it would endorse Harris and Walz.  

“Vice-President Kamala Harris has a proven record supporting labor at every level,” the group’s president, Gary Tinney, said in a statement. “Her commitment to the working class has been exceptional. She represents all the people, standing up for communities of color as well as women, and fights to improve the lives of all Americans.”

Regina Wilson, an FDNY firefighter and the IABPF’s vice president, said that she was “disappointed” when the IAFF announced it wouldn’t be endorsing Harris and Walz. “It was a surprise to us that the IAFF was not able to stand up and stand out for the vice president,” she said.

Wilson, also the president of the Vulcan Society, a fraternal organization of Black firefighters in the FDNY, said the IABPF would have endorsed Harris and Walz anyway, but the IAFF’s non-endorsement encouraged Black firefighters to announce their support “loud and clear.”

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters also declined to endorse either candidate and the union’s president Sean O’Brien spoke at the Republican National Convention. The Teamsters had endorsed the Democratic candidate in every election since 1996. Several members of Teamster Locals 804 and 808 nonetheless attended the rally.

One notable absence from Wednesday’s assembly was Mayor Eric Adams, who has endorsed Harris. He instead lingered a few hundred yards away on the steps of City Hall overseeing the setup for Thursday’s City Hall Plaza celebration of the New York Liberty basketball team’s championship win.

Garrido was nonplussed about the recently indicted mayor not joining the union members.
"We had and we have what we need," he said. "The people that are here have been supportive and we’re supportive of them.” 

Members of DC 37 have already taken two canvassing trips to Pennsylvania, a crucial swing-state in the upcoming election, and the union is planning to organize a third for the week before the election. Garrido said he was planning to cast his ballot on one of the upcoming early voting days.  

dfreeman@thechiefleader.com

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