Former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s campaign to become the next mayor of New York City recieved a boost on Saturday, when a union representing more than 20,000 local transit workers endorsed his candidacy at an event on Staten Island.
John Costa, International President of the Amalgamated Transit Union, touted the former governors “historic investments in buses and public transit,” while rebuking his opponent, Democratic party nominee Zohran Mamdani, saying his proposal to eliminate fares on city buses will cost workers their jobs.
“While opponents talk about socialist free bus fares, a plan that was tried and failed in Kansas City to the detriment of the transit system and our workers, over a hundred of which were laid off, Andrew Cuomo has a real plan to strengthen public transit and protect labor,” Costa said in a statement.
Daniel Cassella, president of the ATU Local 726 representing Staten Island bus operators and maintenance workers, praised Cuomo’s achievements as governor, including building a dedicated HOV lane connecting the Staten Island Expressway to the Hugh Carey Tunnel in 2017, “saving Staten Islanders 20 minutes a day, each way, every day.”
“Andrew Cuomo understands Staten Island better than all the other candidates combined,” Cassella said. “Cuomo has always recognized the unique challenges facing our borough’s transit system and is one of the rare elected officials to actually deliver for Staten Island riders and workers alike.”
Cuomo welcomed the union’s endorsement, writing in a statement: “I am deeply honored to receive the support of ATU International and Local 726. Transit workers are the backbone of this city: they keep New York moving. I’ve always believed you don’t expand transit by gimmicks or costly experiments; you expand it by investing in infrastructure, protecting union jobs, and building systems that last.”