Unions urge City Council not to override Mamdani’s ‘buffer zone’ veto

A group of 13 unions are pressuring New York City Council members not to override Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s veto of the controversial “educational facility buffer zone” bill.

“We, the undersigned unions who urged Mayor Mamdani to veto Intro 175-B due to its chilling effect on constitutionally protected speech and erosion of student and worker rights, now call on the Council to sustain the Mayor’s veto and decline to override,” the unions wrote in a letter shared exclusively with City & State.

The letter argues that the bill – which would direct the NYPD to establish “security perimeters” placing limits on protests outside educational facilities – would threaten New Yorkers’ freedom of speech and undermine labor organizing, in part because it defines “educational facilities” far too broadly.

The letter was signed by United Auto Workers Region 9A, PSC-CUNY, Communications Workers of America, 1199SEIU, New York State Nurses Association, American Association of University Professors (and its New York University affiliate), Doctors Council SEIU, Committee of Interns and Residents SEIU, SEIU 200United, Teamsters Local 804, New York Taxi Workers Alliance and Workers United.

The City Council passed the bill on March 26 by a vote of 30 to 19, but Mamdani vetoed the bill on April 24. The City Council has 30 days from then to vote to override the veto. A spokesperson for the City Council told City & State that the council will not vote on the override during its stated meeting on Thursday. But there’s another stated meeting scheduled for May 20 where the council could take action.

The council also passed a similar bill regarding houses or worship, but with a veto-proof majority, so Mamdani allowed it to lapse into law.

City Council Speaker Julie Menin would need at least 34 votes to override the mayor’s veto, which would require flipping at least some of the council members who voted against the bill. The bill was championed by many major Jewish organizations like UJA-Federation of New York and the Jewish Community Relations Council, which condemned Mamdani’s decision to veto the bill and are now pushing for a veto override.

The unions encouraged those council members who voted against the bill to hold the line and refuse to back an override. 

“For all of you who voted against Intro 175-B because you understand these concerns, literally nothing has changed in the text of the bill,” the letter reads. “We urge you to continue standing with our unions.”