After a grueling New York primary season, members of AFSCME District Council 37 celebrated big wins for workers and New York City.
DC 37-backed mayoral candidate Eric Adams won the Democratic primary and the union’s members were able to secure other key legislative wins across the city. Through the Reach Beyond program, DC 37 members made more than 140,000 calls to fellow members, sent over 135,000 texts, and did other member-to-member organizing to ensure electoral success.
“With all the ballots finally accounted for, it is now even clearer Eric Adams will be our next mayor,” said Henry Garrido, executive director of DC 37 and an AFSCME vice president. “Early on, District Council 37 put all of its weight behind Eric because we knew he was the essential workers’ champion – clearly, New Yorkers agreed. Our members got Eric elected. Now, we’re looking forward to a City Hall that puts working people first.”
Ensuring that city leaders with worker-friendly agendas are elected is a core priority for DC 37 members, as evidenced by their impressive outreach program over the past several months. With the open mayoral seat and almost 100% turnover in the City Council – 49 open seats out of 51 total – this year’s elections are critical in deciding the direction the nation’s largest city will take in the coming years. DC 37’s preferred candidates won in 37 of these races.
Further, New York City is emerging slowly from the devastation the COVID-19 pandemic caused, and the next mayor and city leaders will have their work cut out for them on plans for recovery. DC 37 members want those recovery plans to maintain public services and properly compensate the workers who provide them.
These issues were at the core of DC 37 members’ concerns for the primary election. Many members never stopped working during the pandemic and rose to the call of public service in one of the toughest times the city has experienced in decades. Adams and the other Democratic primary winners will go on to run in the general election in the fall.
If elected, Adams will be the second Black mayor in New York City's history after the late David Dinkins.