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Mayor gets the union label
It started with a ripple, when a crowd of union hardhats stood alongside Mayor Bloomberg last April and endorsed his reelection bid at a dusty work site in Brooklyn. Within days, the state's court officers followed with an endorsement of their own. They were followed by the city's plumbers' union, three EMT unions, the carpenters' union and, most dramatically last week, District Council 37, the city's largest municipal union. What began as a small wave of union support for Bloomberg is slowly turning into a powerful swell, as union insiders conclude that the Republican mayor is very likely to win another four-year term this fall, at least if recent polls are to be believed. As one union veteran said, "Better to get onboard soon, because this train is leaving." For Bloomberg - founder of a nonunion media empire who last year had his Manhattan townhouse picketed in the middle of the night by angry cops and firefighters - it's another happy development. For years, the city's unions have been a pillar of strength for the city's Democrats, who have used union workers to fill campaign coffers and campaign crowd shots. But with Bloomberg now sailing ahead of his nearest Democratic rival, former Bronx borough president Fernando Ferrer, many city unions are getting in line - or at least not endorsing his opponents. Others, like the teachers union, are trying to jump-start contract negotiations, having concluded that it is better to deal with the mayor now - when he arguably needs them - than after he wins the fall election. "People are very pragmatic, and they are watching the Democratic field," said teachers union President Randi Weingarten. "Mike Bloomberg may be a Republican these days," she added. "But he has been a Democrat for most of his adult life." Even some of the city's larger private unions, which don't have to bargain directly with City Hall, are said to be giving the mayor a hard look. They include the powerful Local 1199 of the health care workers union, and Local 32B-32J, which represents city building workers. The New York Hotel Trades Council, an alliance of nine unions with 27,000 members in the city, also is said to be "extremely likely" to endorse Bloomberg within the next few weeks, one union source said. Bloomberg often has given unions a reason to back him. His plans to redevelop the far West Side of Manhattan - even without his ill-fated stadium - will create decades of construction jobs for trade workers, as will plans for new Yankee and Mets stadiums. And in the case of the hotel workers union, he brokered a deal last spring that kept The Plaza from turning entirely into condos - then publicly promised to hold his election night party in a union-approved hotel. "We have enjoyed working with him," said hotel trades council President Peter Ward. It's not unheard of for a Republican to get union support in an election year. Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, for instance, won the backing of DC-37 and the Building and Construction Trades Council as he steamrolled toward reelection in 1997. But with Bloomberg rising in the polls, his rivals are left to struggle around the edges. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Queens, Brooklyn) got the nod from the city's retail workers union for his efforts to keep Wal-Mart out of Queens. And Ferrer picked up the backing of the Transit Workers Union. "We are going after the support of rank-and-file members," said Ferrer spokeswoman Christy Setzer, "to let them know who is really the candidate for affordable housing, better schools and good jobs."
How backers stack up
Union endorsements so far in the race for mayor:
MAYOR BLOOMBERG
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