Powerful NYC Union Endorses Rivera Over De Blasio For District 10 Race

BROOKLYN, NY — New York City's largest union endorsed Council Member Carlina Rivera in the hotly contested race for New York's 10th Congressional District, giving a lift to her campaign over some better-known candidates.

Local 1199 of the Service Employees International Union, a powerful healthcare union, announced Wednesday it was "proud" to endorse Rivera, a show of support that the three-term Council Member said she was "honored" to receive.

"From fighting for safe staffing to securing vital pandemic resources, we've been in the trenches together to improve conditions for healthcare workers," Rivera said of the union. "I can't wait to keep it up in Congress, and I'm honored to have their support."

In an unusually crowded Congressional race with as many as 15 Democratic contenders, the endorsement marks a major win for Rivera, a comparatively lesser-known candidate than rivals like U.S. Rep. Mondaire Jones, Assembly Member Yuh-Line Niou and former Mayor Bill de Blasio.

The union's political and financial weight — it represents over 200,000 healthcare workers — has uplifted candidates in the past, notably including de Blasio, who consolidated union support during his 2013 mayoral bid.

1199 SEUI's endorsement is also the first major labor backing in the District 10 race, where endorsements are poised to be particularly influential in a wide-open Democratic field, political analysts told Gothamist.

The new House seat, which covers the entirety of Lower Manhattan and large swaths of brownstone Brooklyn under recently-redrawn congressional maps, doesn't have an incumbent, since longtime Congressman Jerry Nadler is instead running in the reshaped 12th District.

Rivera's current Lower East Side Council seat, where she's considered somewhat of a rising Democratic star, is entirely contained by the new 10th District.

Her bid for Congress has still been considered a long shot by some, but she's been raking in progressive endorsements in recent days, including U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso (as well as a slate of progressive Council Members).

Progressives, though, appear to be somewhat split in the race.

Jones has gained the support of some left-leaning groups and Niou recently won the Working Families Party endorsement — a show of support on her behalf that also overlooked some better-known names in the race.

De Blasio, meanwhile, has earned several endorsements, but isn't leading the progressive field as he did in races past.