A labor leader who now has his eye on the city’s top political office sacrificed his rank and file to curry favor with Mayor Bloomberg as the mogul fought for a third term, according to a lawsuit.
Bloomberg began lining up support for his latest stint in City Hall long before election season by getting unions such as the 20,000-member Teamsters Local 237 in his pocket, claims a New York City Housing Authority union leader who opposed the political alliance.
Jakwan Rivers — a Local 237 business agent back in 2008, when the political pact became clear — claims he was booted from his union gig, lost $30,000 in salary and was harassed for backing then-City Comptroller Bill Thompson in the 2009 race.
“We were told directly, ‘Greg [Floyd] is going with Bloomberg. When you go out in the field, let the members know we’re going with Bloomberg, because we are going to secure our contract before anyone else,’ ” Rivers said, referring to union president Floyd.
Rivers, 46, was part of a Local 237 group called Members for Change that attempted to unseat Floyd.
“Jakwan was fired [from Local 237] pretty much immediately after they announced their support of Thompson,” said Rivers’ lawyer, Alexander Coleman.
Floyd, now considering a 2013 mayoral run, agreed not to fight Bloomberg as the mayor implemented tough staffing cuts in 2007 and 2008, Rivers charged in a Brooklyn Federal Court lawsuit he filed last week against Floyd, the union and NYCHA.
“In exchange, Mayor Bloomberg provided Floyd with favorable contract terms and funding in negotiations,” the suit alleges.