ALBANY - When John Mannion first ran for state Senate in 2018, he vied for the influential endorsement of the state’s largest labor union - the Civil Service Employees Association.
At the time, Mannion was challenging Bob Antonacci, a Republican incumbent senator representing the 50th Senate District. Mannion lost the CSEA endorsement to Antonacci that year. But this time around, he snagged the CSEA nod from Republican challenger Angi Renna. The 50th Senate District seat has been vacant since the beginning of the year, after Antonacci resigned for a judgeship. A special election to fill the seat was canceled earlier this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“For me it means a lot,” Mannion said. “I consider myself a strong advocate for working people and I do know a lot of CSEA members. Therefore, to have earned this endorsement from the hardworking members of a well-respected organization and who do a lot of good for our area - and have through this crisis - means a lot to me.”
Mannion is one of 49 Democrats running for state Senate who received endorsements from powerful labor unions, like CSEA and the New York State AFL-CIO, ahead of November’s general election. Mannion received both CSEA and AFL-CIO endorsements.
The CSEA declined to release a full list of their endorsements, however candidates confirmed they had received letters of support Friday. The AFL-CIO, a labor union representing 2.5 million workers across the state, announced nearly 200 endorsements in congressional and state legislative races, the overwhelming majority for Democratic candidates.
AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento pointed to the candidates’ support for working New Yorkers as key to climbing out of the economic and health crisis facing the nation from the coronavirus.
“Now more than ever, as COVID-19 leaves a trail of destruction through the health and economic security of working people, we need elected officials who will stand up and fight for workers both now and in the months and years ahead,” Cilento said in a statement included with the endorsement list. “We endorse these candidates with great confidence that they understand the priorities of union members and will take-on the issues important to all workers while helping to build-up the middle class.”
But key districts within the Hudson Valley, North Country and the Central and Western New York regions could be flipped blue if Democratic candidates succeed in November, which could possibly lead to Democrats having a supermajority in the Senate - giving senators the ability to override vetoes from Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo - should they capture at least 42 seats.
CSEA spokesman Mark Kotzin declined to comment on the labor union's endorsements, but emphasized that the CSEA supports a balance of legislators from both sides of the aisle.
"We endorse, not by party, but by support on issues," he said. "We have a long, proud history of making sure we support candidates from all parties based on their support for our issues."
However, over the last five years, the CSEA has donated almost exclusively to Republicans running for state Senate while primarily donating to Democrats in the Assembly. Political insiders also say the CSEA has favored Republicans for state Senate seats in the past.
Mannion, who is a teacher's union member and leader himself as a high school advanced biology teacher in Camillus, said endorsements from these organizations can help encourage more support for his campaign.
“I know that organizations like CSEA know how to engage their own members, and there’s really no substitute for that,” he said. “So getting an endorsement from a well-respected organization like that means that their members are going to pay attention.”
In another vacant Senate seat, currently represented by Republican Sen. Betty Little who is not seeking reelection, both the CSEA and AFL-CIO have endorsed Democrat Kimberly Davis over Republican and Assemblyman Dan Stec. The Democratic candidate for the 46th Senate District - currently represented by Republican George Amedore who is not seeking reelection - also nabbed the endorsements of the two labor unions.
Meanwhile, endorsements from the New York State United Teachers, NYSUT, strayed slightly from the other labor unions - endorsing Stec, Mannion and Michelle Hinchey - two Democrats - in their respective districts.
Hinchey, the daughter of the late Congressman Maurice Hinchey, said she grew up in a union household - her grandfather helped unionize cement plant workers and many of her family members work in union jobs.
Supporting and protecting working class households is why Hinchey is running, she said. The district, which covers the Hudson Valley and parts of the Capital Region, also has many union employees who deserve a seat at the table, Hinchey said.
“It’s important that we have more upstate Democratic voices in the room,” she said. “CSEA folks live in our community and district. We want to make sure they have a voice in the room.”
While Democratic candidates' swing districts may have garnered support from the influential unions, many Republican incumbents secured support as well, including Sen. Jim Tedisco. He also received an endorsement from NYSUT.
"I’m proud to be a strong voice for working people and continue to have the support of organized labor and receive these endorsements," Tedisco said. "As a former public school teacher, I come from a blue-collar family: my dad worked for 30 years at the GE foundry in some of the toughest conditions imaginable. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of my father, and not a day goes by as a senator that I don’t stand up for the proud working men and women who make New York the Empire State."
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Capitol Insider: Labor unions throw support behind Democrats - Times Union
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