Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks to Native 237 teamsters throughout a rally for Mayor on March, 6, 2025.
Picture by Lloyd Mitchell
Mayoral hopeful and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo was re-endorsed Wednesday by the Teamsters Joint Council 16 — one of many few formal nods of assist his impartial marketing campaign has picked up through the basic election.
The labor group — representing 120,000 downstate employees in each the personal and public sectors — stands out among the many metropolis’s strongest unions in remaining behind Cuomo after he misplaced the Democratic major to Meeting Member Zohran Mamdani by practically 13% factors. Within the metropolis, the Teamsters characterize supply truck drivers, sanitation employees, movie and TV crew members, and laborers in different industries.
The union’s largest native, Teamsters Native 237, had beforehand introduced that it might proceed endorsing Cuomo within the basic election.
Thomas Gesualdi, the president of Teamsters Joint Council 16, mentioned the group is sticking with Cuomo as a result of “he built jobs, he built industries, and he built opportunity” for working New Yorkers throughout his decade as governor.
“Andrew Cuomo has proven time and again that he’s the fighter working people can count on,” Gesualdi mentioned. “We know as mayor he is ready to deliver again. Andrew Cuomo will keep our union members working, invest in New York’s middle class, and will always ensure labor has a seat at the table. The Teamsters don’t back down, and neither does Andrew Cuomo.”
The previous governor, who’s in second place however nonetheless trailing Mamdani by double digits within the four-way mayor’s race, pledged to stay a fierce advocate for the union’s members as mayor.
“For generations, they’ve built this city’s industries, kept it moving, and stood as a backbone of our middle class,” Cuomo mentioned of the Teamsters, in a press release. “I am honored to have their support, and as mayor, I will fight every day to keep good jobs here, grow new industries, and ensure working men and women have the respect, security, and opportunity they deserve.”
Cuomo was additionally endorsed within the basic election by IBEW Native 3 earlier this month.
Whereas Cuomo was backed by many of the metropolis’s highly effective labor teams through the major, the overwhelming majority have since deserted him for Mamdani since he misplaced the Democratic contest. These unions embody 32BJ SEIU, 1199SEIU, and the Lodge and Gaming Trades Council.
Through the major, Cuomo closely relied upon members of unions that endorsed him to point out assist at occasions and get out the vote. However their united assist and manpower proved not sufficient to attain victory within the race.
