Union Backs Eric Adams for NYC Mayor at Queens Press Conference

Posted on March 24, 2021 by Mike Lee in ABOUT DC 37, NEWSROOM, POLITICAL ACTION, POLITICS, WHO WE ARE // 0 Comments

DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido endorsing Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams at a press conference in Roy Wilkins Park in Jamaica, Queens.

DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido endorsing Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams at a press conference in Roy Wilkins Park in Jamaica, Queens.

By MIKE LEE

District Council 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido announced today that the City’s largest municipal labor union is endorsing Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams for Mayor of New York City.

Endorsing the Brooklyn Borough President at a morning press conference held at Roy Wilkins Park in Jamaica, Queens, Garrido said the endorsement is a culmination of a long process within the union in choosing from 24 candidates running in the Democratic Primary on June 22, including hosting an online Mayoral Forum on Jan. 25.

“We started our screening process with the principle that we need a mayor who understands our values, who understands the importance of essential workers for the City, and who also understands our people are putting their lives on the line right now in order to do their jobs,” said DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido at the March 24 event. “We need a mayor who understands that DC 37 makes this city work and that our workers need to be protected just like everyone else. That mayor is Eric Adams, and DC 37 is proud to endorse him.”

“This is a city made up of workers,” Adams said. “This is not a startup. This is a city where you have to have been a worker. I am you. We need a blue-collar mayor to run a blue-collar city.”

Adams, who was raised in South Jamaica, Queens, and served in the New York Transit Police and with the NYPD, rising to Captain, remains an outspoken activist against police brutality and for criminal justice reform. He also was president of the Grand Council of Guardians and co-founded 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care.

In 2006, Adams was elected to the New York State Senate, representing the 20^th District in Brooklyn, and then elected Brooklyn Borough President in 2013.

Adams’ goals as Mayor include a fair and equitable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, which has struck the City’s communities of color the hardest. In the process, Adams envisions a future of building an inclusive economy to benefit all New Yorkers with a focus on affordable housing and pushing labor-friendly policies.

This vision is shared by DC 37, which counted on Adams for support during the pandemic when many DC 37 essential workers were unable, and in some cases not allowed by managers, to have PPE, such as masks, while on the job.

DC 37, as part of the #LaborStrong2021 coalition, endorsed 31 New York City Council candidates on Jan. 27.

On March 24, the union also made endorsements in the following races: