Pat Arnow/United Federation of Teachers

United Federation of Teachers Endorses Zohran Mamdani

The endorsement comes fresh off of Mamdani’s democratic primary win.

The United Federation of Teachers has endorsed New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. The announcement came on July 8th, just weeks after Mamdani’s win in the democratic primary.

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“We have to make New York City safer and more affordable for working- and middle-class families. We have to make the jobs of educators and nurses more attractive with better pay and benefits, and retain those already doing the work,” said UFT President Michael Mulgrew. “We need a mayor who understands the task before us and who will help us get it done.”

The federation praised Mamdani for his proposed plans for New York City schools. A graduate of the Bronx High School of Science and a former standardized testing tutor, Mamdani has proposed favored school policy changes, including limiting mayoral control in schools and advocating for a system that would lean on partnerships to govern the roughly 911,000 students and 1,600 schools, Chalkbeat reported.

Plans for Families

Mamdani’s school plans are part of a broader initiative to help keep New Yorkers in the city and discourage them from leaving.

“The best way to keep families in New York City is to make it cheaper to raise one here,” he championed. “That’s why, since the beginning of this campaign, I’ve championed universal childcare. Making a commitment to deliver it to New Yorkers with children as young as six weeks to five years of age.”

The mayoral candidate’s plan addresses a larger and ongoing issue across the five boroughs. Parents in every borough have been struggling to afford childcare, as rates continue to increase amid inflation. According to the New York City Comptroller, in 2024, the average cost of child care for infants and toddlers in family-based care was $18,200, an increase of 79% since 2019. The average cost of center-based care was $26,000, an increase of 43% since 2019. In comparison, NYC-area inflation over the same period was 20 percent – and the growth in average hourly earnings was only 13%.

He also plans to address postpartum depression in the city, which is also an ongoing crisis, and combat it by introducing Baby Baskets, which would include a resource guide of information on the City’s newborn home visiting program, breastfeeding, postpartum depression, and more, he explained on WNYC.

Schools Come First

Finally, Mamdani’s plans for K-12 schools include renovations to 500 public schools that will include renewable HVAC upgrades, turning heat-absorbing asphalt into vibrant green spaces for students and community members, and prioritizing out-of-date facilities and combating environmental racism in NYC.

The Ugandan native also has plans to ensure public schools are fully funded with equally distributed resources, strong after-school programs, mental health counselors and nurses, compliant and effective class sizes, and integrated student bodies. Under his proposed “School Streets”, car-free roads will prevent traffic fatalities and lower pollution surrounding schools. Mamdani also addressed homelessness with his Bronx pilot of Every Child and Family Is Known, an initiative focused on supporting children and families experiencing homelessness.

The Uganda native also strongly supports an end to mayoral control and envisions a system in which parents, students, educators, and administrators work together to create school environments in which students and families will thrive. He has also proposed giving free OMNY cards to all students and making CUNY tuition-free for all students, as it has been for the last 130 years.

Mamdani will face current New York City Mayor Eric Adams and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo during the upcoming November election.

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