New York, NY – President
of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) has announced the union’s endorsement of State Senator Jose Peralta in his bid for another term.
“We have worked closely with Jose since his time on the staff of the New York City Central Labor Council, as a member of the Assembly and in recent years as a member of the State Senate. In the legislature, he has championed key legislation that impacts not just RWDSU members, but all workers in New York State. His push this year for a bill to strengthen the Wage Theft Prevention Act would, if passed, help car wash workers, retail workers and food service workers recover stolen wages. He has fought for on-call scheduling reform and an end to the tip credit for car wash workers among other priorities. We support Jose’s campaign and we stand with him as he has with us,” said Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU).
“We also strongly believe that it is time for the Democrats in the state senate to re-unite so that we can finally enact the progressive legislation which working people so desperately need. That should be our most important goal. The Governor, the leaders of both the Democratic conference and the IDC and other major political players in the state have all agreed to a plan that could lead to Democratic control of the state senate. Part of that proposal provides that members of both conferences would not challenge incumbent state senators at this time – for the sake of finally achieving a Democratic state senate. Several good people are nonetheless running primaries. However, we believe it is a sign of bad faith for them to be challenging the incumbents at this point. Instead, they should be supporting the unity plan, as do we. If the purpose of their candidacies is to provide for a Democratic state senate, what they are doing is counter-productive. We call on all challengers to stand aside for now, so that we can give the unity plan a chance to succeed. All Democrats should be supporting the unity plan – and should not be supporting the primary challengers who could unravel it.
“I am thrilled to be receiving this endorsement from the good people of RWDSU on my re-election campaign. My progressive ideals will always go hand in hand with working families, and my legislative record speaks for itself, from pushing to pass the Paid Family Leave program to increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour. RWDSU and its members embody the values we strive to achieve here in New York, and they are the backbone of our economy. I am proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with RWDSU to push for a progressive agenda that reinvests in our workers and improves the lives of working families in my district and across this great state,” said Senator Jose Peralta
