On Friday, September 26th, Staten Island’s ATU Local 726 and the ATU New York State Legislative Conference Board backed Andrew Cuomo for New York City mayor. The announcement follows a recent endorsement from Teamsters Joint Council 16, signaling growing support from labor and transit groups across the city.
The unions, representing thousands of bus operators and transit professionals, highlighted Cuomo’s track record on Staten Island transit. Daniel Cassella, president of Local 726 and chair of the New York State Legislative Conference Board, said Cuomo understands the borough’s transit challenges and emphasized that workers are confident in his leadership.
Cuomo praised the endorsement, saying he is “deeply honored” by the support and highlighting his plan to build a reliable transit system through strong union involvement and targeted infrastructure investment.
The ATU also rejected mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s free bus proposal, pointing to Kansas City’s failed $50 million program in 2020, which ended last month due to financial strain. Cuomo’s plan instead supports expanding the Fair Fares program to provide discounted transit for low-income riders while maintaining system reliability and preserving jobs.
