Labor News & Commentary June 27 labor plays a role in Zohran Mamdani's victory in the Democratic primary for NYC

[Omaha Steve]

https://onlabor.org/june-27-2025/

By Meredith Gudesblatt

Meredith Gudesblatt is a student at Harvard Law School and a member of the Labor and Employment Lab.

In Today’s News and Commentary, labor plays a role in Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the Democratic primary for New York City Mayor, the House Appropriations Committee moves to expand guestworker programs, and the Colloquium on Scholarship in Employment and Labor call-for-presentations deadline is approaching.

On Tuesday, Zohran Mamdani defeated Andrew Cuomo and became the presumptive Democratic nominee for the mayor of New York City in a stunning primary upset reminiscent of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s 2018 victory over Joseph Crowley in the congressional primary. Eric Blanc, an Assistant Professor of Labor Studies at Rutgers University, has argued that “Zohran’s inroads within organized labor were crucial steps towards legitimizing his campaign.” Unions may have felt pressured to endorse Andrew Cuomo, who has a long history of punishing political opponents, as not doing so could jeopardize the ability to get a seat at the table and lobby for the interests of their members. In March, Cuomo launched his mayoral run from the carpenters’ union hall. And on April 14, Cuomo received the endorsement of the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council and SEIU 32BJ, even though both pushed for his resignation in 2021. Politico reported on these endorsements, commenting that they “provid[ed] organizational muscle and solidif[ied] his front-runner status in the Democratic primary.” But grassroots rank-and-file organizing committees in other unions highlighted Zohran’s labor platform, which earned him endorsements from UAW and DC37, among others. UAW President Shawn Fain even released a video ahead of the primary election enthusiastically urging UAW members to rank Mamdani first. Despite Mamdani’s victory, Cuomo announced he may stay in the race and run as an independent. It remains to be seen whether unions will embrace Zohran as the Democratic nominee or stick by Cuomo’s side—even if this goes against the best interests of their members.

The House Appropriations Committee backed a bipartisan amendment to the Department of Homeland Security funding bill that would dramatically expand H-2A and H-2B guest worker programs. This amendment would allow employers who use the H-2B program to bring on the same number of non-agricultural workers each year, instead of being restricted by a visa lottery system subject to visa caps. The amendment also creates an industry specific loophole: circus and carnival workers would be removed from the H-2B category and subject to the P visa category, which is designed for foreign athletes, entertainers and artists. This would free up more non-agricultural visas and subject circus and carnival workers to even less protections than they have under the H-2B category. This move comes just a few days after the Trump administration announced that it would stop enforcing the 2024 Biden-era rule that included organizing protections for foreign farm workers, as Justin previously highlighted. The non-profit organization Centro de Los Derechos Del Migrante, Inc. issued a press statement, condemning this move and the subsequent funding bill amendment: “Expanding the number of available visas without strengthening protections for workers and guaranteeing oversight is irresponsible and unconscionable.” Increased dependency on the H-2A visa program without organizing protections, which advocates consistently contend exploits migrant workers, may lead to increased competition for resident laborers, resulting in less bargaining power. Currently, only fourteen states guarantee collective bargaining rights for farmworkers.

Finally, since 2006, the Annual Colloquium on Scholarship in Employment and Labor Law (COSELL) has brought together dozens of scholars and advocates to discuss cutting edge research, challenges, and advances in labor law, employment law, and related areas. This year, Seton Hall Law School will host the 20th COSELL in Newark, NJ on Friday, September 19 and Saturday, September 20, 2025. COSELL is currently accepting submissions until July 15, 2025: applicants are required to submit a presentation title accompanied by a 300 word abstract. COSELL encourages and welcomes submissions from professors, practitioners, aspiring professors, and scholars. For those interested in attending without presenting, you can register here.