Christine Quinn is on the verge of landing her biggest union endorsement in the mayor’s race, sources said yesterday.
Sources said 32BJ Service Employees International Union, with 70,000 city members, is likely to announce its backing of Quinn on Tuesday.
As City Council speaker, Quinn has pushed through two major bills important to the union — one requiring businesses to provide five paid sick days and another expanding the “prevailing wage” law for private building-services workers on city-financed construction projects.
The “prevailing wage” generally mirrors union wages, and was a priority issue for the union.
Although labor leaders had at one point hoped to form a united front in this year’s mayoral race, some of the city’s most powerful and politically active unions are going their own way.
Bill Thompson landed the teachers union this week, and Public Advocate Bill de Blasio won Local 1199 SEIU, which represents hospital and service workers.
In 2009, 32BJ backed Mayor Bloomberg over Bill Thompson.
One 32BJ source insisted de Blasio isn’t out of the running.