Labor considers ditching Ramos, sources say

On Saturday, during the New York State Association of Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislators' annual conference in Albany, state Sen. Jessica Ramos co-hosted the well-attended Labor Luncheon. As always, a who’s who of political leaders took to the stage in order to pay lip service to the powerful unions who have helped propel many a campaign. As chair of the state Senate Labor Committee, Ramos kicked off the event. “Labor has been my fullest ally in this work,” she said. “Because my life’s mission is the same as your mission: to end poverty, to rebuild the middle class, to protect dignity, to make sure hard work leads to stability, not struggle.”

But as Ramos seeks to fend off a primary challenge from Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas, labor may not remain her fullest ally. The powerful health care workers union, 1199SEIU, already backed González-Rojas, a rare early endorsement against an incumbent in a contested primary. And multiple labor sources told City & State that more influential unions may follow suit as they begin their own endorsement processes. 

In its first round of endorsements last week, 1199SEIU rolled out its support for González-Rojas, despite having backed Ramos in previous elections. She was one of only two Democratic primary challengers to receive the union’s endorsement in that first batch. “At a time when East Elmhurst, Corona and so many Queens neighborhoods are still waiting for the investments they were promised after the pandemic, we need leadership that will fight, deliver, and partner with frontline workers,” said Dell Smitherman, New York state political and campaigns director for 1199SEIU. “Jessica González-Rojas is that leader.” 

“As the daughter of essential workers and a lifelong advocate for health justice, I am deeply honored to earn the endorsement of 1199SEIU,” González-Rojas said in a statement. “Healthcare workers know better than anyone what our communities need and they know that six years after COVID devastated East Elmhurst, the fact that our community still does not have a primary health care clinic is unacceptable.”

Half a dozen labor sources told City & State that other politically influential unions are quietly considering ditching the state Senate labor chair as well. “There are a number of other unions that have, frankly, been very disappointed with Ramos for the last few years,” one source said. The source and others cited Ramos’ opposition to major projects including the LaGuardia AirTrain and Metropolitan Park Casino that would have created union jobs, as well as certain legislative negotiations considered inattentive to labor concerns and more generally her increasing political isolation following her decision to back Andrew Cuomo for mayor. Ramos has made no secret of her criticisms of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his increasingly powerful wing of the party, and the Queens Democratic Party recently voted against carrying petitions for Ramos this cycle.

Other than 1199SEIU, no major labor groups have publicly weighed in on the race yet, and sources said that union leaders are not exactly excited to find themselves in the position of abandoning Ramos. But it’s one they’ll need to reckon with, likely after the state budget, and Ramos’ support currently seems lackluster at best. “If they tried to do this to (Assembly Labor Chair Harry) Bronson, I think you’d see labor bury the body and no one would ever find it,” a different source said of González-Rojas’ primary challenge, contrasting unions’ willingness to consider endorsing against Ramos to their staunch support for her Assembly counterpart.

Ramos would not directly comment on 1199SEIU’s endorsement when reached for comment, but she pointed to donations made by a variety of unions and labor organizations to her state Senate campaign so far this cycle. Those include contributions from the Steamfitters Local 638, Building and Construction Trades Council, the New York State AFL-CIO, the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council and the New York State Laborers, among other unions both big and small.

Labor is also not a monolith, and the decisions of some high-profile unions don’t dictate what other groups may decide to do. Sources suggested that some of the trades locals will likely stick with Ramos. One source said the Laborers and Mason Tenders are expected to stand by the incumbent, while others speculated that the Building and Construction Trades Council will too, even if some of its member organizations do not.