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Mayoral candidate Bill Thompson is about to get the biggest boost of his campaign — he’ll be endorsed by the teachers union today.
The United Federation of Teachers, one of the city’s largest and most politically powerful labor organizations, will hold its endorsement meeting this afternoon.
Most insiders expect the union to endorse Thompson, particularly since its former president, Randi Weingarten — now chief of its national arm — has already thrown her support his way.
Some sources said Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, another candidate who has been friendly to the UFT, still might have a chance.
But the smart money is going with Thompson.
“The UFT is going for Thompson, and will spare no expense to get him elected,” one source said.
In anticipation of the move for the former comptroller, one of Mayor Bloomberg’s top aides slammed Thompson’s tenure as Board of Education president from 1996 to 2001.
“When Bill Thompson was president of the old Board of Education, he allowed the UFT to run our schools. The result: mismanagement, corruption and violence in the classroom,” Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson told The Post, echoing campaign rhetoric Bloomberg used when Thompson challenged him in 2009.
“We know why the UFT would want Bill Thompson to be mayor — they want to run the school system again.
“The question is: Why would New Yorkers want that?”
A Thompson campaign spokesman fired back, “As the recent decline in graduation rates and the huge achievement gap both demonstrate, the mayor’s strategy of pitting people against each other hasn’t worked for students.
“Bill Thompson will work with teachers, principals and parents with one goal in mind — preparing our students for success in college and careers,” spokesman John Collins said.
Throughout Thompson’s campaign, the candidate has echoed union positions, including criticizing the Bloomberg administration for appointing a noneducator, Cathie Black, as chancellor and for closing schools.
Thompson also skipped a recent forum hosted by a pro-charter- school organization, blaming it on a tight schedule.
The move was sure to curry favor with the union, which is at war with Bloomberg over his support of charters.
The UFT’s support is crucial in the competitive Democratic primary campaign because the union is expected to spend a massive sum to get its candidate elected. But it has not selected a winning mayoral candidate since David Dinkins in 1989, and its president, Michael Mulgrew, is anxious to back a victor.
“Doing $8 million, $9 million, $10 million, it’s not a heavy lift for them,” one source said.
Another source added, “They have tremendous resources they can marshal for their chosen candidate, and a brand whose impact extends to voting blocs well beyond their own membership.”
UFT spokesman Dick Riley said the union has not decided whether to spend big in the race. He also declined to speculate on who would get the nod.
The union will announce the winner outside its headquarters in lower Manhattan this evening.