Christine Quinn is on the verge of landing her biggest union endorsement in the mayor’s race, sources said today.
The sources said 32BJ Service Employees International Union, which has 70,000 members in the city, 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.
In 2009, 32BJ backed Mayor Bloomberg over Bill Thompson.
Although labor leaders had at one point hoped to form a united front in this year’s mayoral race, some of the most city’s powerful and politically-active unions are going their own way.
Thompson landed the teachers’ union this week. Public Advocate Bill de Blasio had earlier snared Local 1199SEIU., which represents hospital and service workers.
One 32BJ source insisted de Blasio isn’t out of the running and still had an outside shot of securing the union’s backing.