September 11, 2013
By Vincent Alvarez, President New York City Central Labor Council
New York, NY – "New York City's Labor Movement made history today. Together we put forth a slate of winning advocates for working people. For too long in our city, working men and women had been taken for granted. Together with our affiliates, we committed significant resources to supporting extraordinary candidates who were anything but the status quo.
"The New York City Labor Movement's first unified endorsement was for Scott Stringer, a man whose dedication and commitment to working New Yorkers have been consistently demonstrated through his years of public service. And when the odds were against him, Labor stepped up and defended our candidate.
"We supported bright, young minds like Carlos Menchaca, who broke through nearly a decade of community neglect, and is committed to fighting for the values of working people in Sunset Park and Red Hook.
"We supported Tish James, Ritchie Torres, and Antonio Reynoso because we know that the kind of changes that our city’s workers need are rooted in responsibility, dedication, and respect.
“From the Bronx, to Brooklyn, and out to Staten Island, and throughout this entire process, Labor remained committed to ensuring that workers’ voices were elevated in a real way. We communicated with our affiliates and showed the power of a unified voice and collective action.
“Now that this first phase of the fall elections is complete, we can look forward to the November elections. The battles won today are worthy of celebration, but tomorrow, Labor will be right back to work, fighting on behalf of our members to elect labor-friendly, worker-friendly, candidates. Labor can make this happen, because we must make it happen. The safety, health, and well-being of New York City’s workers depend on the work we are doing, and we cannot let them down.”
*The New York City Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO represents over 300 affiliated unions, and 1.3 million workers.
