By LILLIAN ROBERTS
Executive Director
District Council 37, AFSCME, AFL-CIO

On behalf of the members of District Council 37, I want to thank Comptroller John Liu for the valiant effort he mounted in the Democratic primary election, despite the way the establishment denied him the media coverage and resources he deserved. A beautiful sign of Liu's dedication to saving taxpayers' money and city workers' jobs came after the primary, as he kept working to block wasteful contracting out.

Although our hard work wasn't enough to help him pull off a victory as an underdog, I'm proud of the dedication of our activists, who proved again that DC 37 stands up for its friends. Liu expressed his appreciation to our members in a letter you can read on page 10.

We should also be proud that in the primary our DC 37 Green Machine volunteers helped achieve victories for two-thirds of the candidates we endorsed - including Scott Stringer for NYC Comptroller and Gale Brewer for Manhattan Borough President. For the Oct. 1 Public Advocate run-off, our activists were getting out the vote for Letitia James - another stalwart ally of city employees who fought hard against layoffs and contracting out.

Now our Delegates and Executive Board have voted overwhelming to endorse Bill de Blasio, the Democratic candidate in the mayoral election on Tuesday, November 5. I have known Bill for many years, and I believe he will be one of our best mayors ever - a leader who understands and cares about the needs of poor and working class New Yorkers like us.

Bill de Blasio sees clearly that the rising economic inequality of the Bloomberg years has caused widespread suffering. He aims to reverse the policies that favor business and the wealthy over working people, whose wages have stagnated while community services have been cut.

Bill de Blasio: for public workers, against contracting out

Inevitably, the union will have disagreements with any mayor. But on the fundamentals, we see eye-to-eye. "Nothing is more important than getting contracts for the people who keep the city running," he told our Executive Board Sept. 17. "I believe in the quality and ability of public employees, and I am not in favor of privatization or contracting out."

De Blasio has followed our white paper research on the waste of contracting out and is open to our ideas on bringing in neglected revenue to fund wage increases. "I intend to work in partnership with Lillian Roberts and DC 37 to make the city fair to the people who do the work and effective for the people who need the services," he said. We are prepared to work closely with him to achieve these goals.

With this election, New Yorkers will define our city and our era. If we choose a mayor who understands that city workers deserve raises and the public deserves quality services, that will send a message to Albany and the nation that it is time to stop the downsizing and privatizing and the constant attacks on public service workers' pensions. The anti-government forces understand the national significance of this election. Already, wealthy interests like the right-wing billionaire Koch brothers are pledging millions of dollars to defeat Bill de Blasio.

Twenty years of Republican rule in New York City have been disastrous for working people. Policies of the outgoing administration fostered growing inequality. Bill de Blasio's plan to tax incomes over $500,000 to fund universal pre-kindergarten for all children shows that he believes government can help heal the inequities of our economy.

I look forward to a new mayor who genuinely believes in working in partnership with the union. On Election Day, I urge our members to vote for Bill de Blasio for mayor.