Hundreds of Unions were represented at the New York City Labor Day Parade on Saturday, September 6th. Thousands of members from over 200 unions marched across Fifth Avenue expressing solidarity and pride while also highlighting critical challenges unions face.
The New York City Labor Day parade is the largest and oldest in the nation. Large floats, musical bands, and flyers accompanied New York City workers who demanded basic protections from the city and mayoral candidates.
“It’s very important for people to protect the rights that we’ve fought so hard for, the rights that we’ve already won, and the rights that we refuse to give up,” said Mary Conte, a retired teacher and member of the United Federation of Teachers Union.
New York is a Union Town
New York City’s strong history as a place with a high population of unionized workers has given the city the name of “Union Town.” For decades, New York workers have created long-standing advocacy movements to improve the well-being of people in the workplace.
In a comprehensive study by the Independent Projects Analysis (IPA) it was found that institutions employing union labor increased their efficiency by 8%.
Chris Smalls, former president and founder of the Amazon Labor Union and the Labor Party USA, expressed the importance of grassroots political movements, and their need to improve internally as they expand.
“The problem with the labor movement right now is they're letting politics lead how they organize instead of the other way around. In our Amazon Labor Union constitution, we don’t endorse any politician because politicians will never be our saviors.”
Smalls, a recent volunteer of the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, said that politicians should focus on improving labor laws before they earn the endorsement of unions.
Workers’ Mayoral Candidates
Chris Smalls’s skepticism about politicians reflects a bigger tension in New York’s political landscape. With just about three months left before Mayoral elections, candidates continue persuading voters about their campaigns.
Mayor Eric Adams, considers himself a “Labor Mayor.”
“I understand workers’ pains and concerns: healthcare, pensions, broken environments,” said Adams. “When you look at what has happened with brokers in the city under my administration, no one has done it like I have.”
But not all New Yorkers see Adams as their mayoral choice. Regina Gori, a Bronx native and retired teacher member of the United Federation of Teachers (UTF) expressed her discontent with the current mayor.
“I think Eric Adams is not in it for the people of New York. I think he's in it for himself,” said Gori.
Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani recently received the endorsement of the UTF, one of the city’s largest unions. The endorsement signified a growing sentiment amongst New Yorkers who voted for Zohran Mamdani during the primary elections.
Mamdani’s progressive policies such as free childcare and stronger tenant protections has secured a big pool of voters across the five boroughs.
Conversely, Kathy Keane, a long-time New York resident, says Curtis Sliwa is the champion for workers.
“I love Curtis because when I was in high school in the 80s, the Guardian Angels protected the subways. I’ll never forget Curtis for that,” Keane said. “He loves the city, he has no aspirations other than to take care of this city.”
The Unseen
While many workers celebrated their day with joy, others kept the city running from the sidelines. Jorge Granados, a Peruvian construction worker, said labor never stops in The City.
“Well, it’s their day, they have to celebrate it. Some of us are working and others are doing their parade,” said Granados. “In this country you have to work. There’s rent to pay, bills to pay. None of that comes for free [...] otherwise they’ll throw us out on the street.”
Granados represents a community of essential workers. Like him, many other immigrants across various industries contribute to the city’s functioning.
Larbi Aitaabou, senior organizer with the Independent Drivers Guild (IDG), said that delivery and For-Hire drivers experience issues that have become a matter of health.
Regardless of being the city’s backbone, these essential workers don’t have access to some basic needs, such as free and accessible parking to use the bathroom, eat, or visit the doctor throughout the day.
“We did our survey and found out that a lot of drivers have a lot of chronic diseases just because they're holding in their needs and that causes them a lot of problems with their bladders,” said Aitaabou. "Some people even got diabetes because of that.”
Aitaabou and other organizers at the IDG are advocating for Intro 1000, a New York City Council bill that would allow for-hire vehicles to park in commercial spots for short periods. The bill is scheduled for a vote on September 15th.
“We are essential workers, and we need to be respected. This is not a big ask,” said Aitaabou.
A large number of New York union members are immigrants, according to a report by CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies. The study discovered that the presence of immigrants in the city’s union membership rate is 20.5%, double the national average of 9.9% in 2024.
According to the researchers, the contribution of immigrants across unions highlights how crucial they are to the city’s organized labor movement and improvement of working conditions.
What Workers Expect From The City
Activists like Chris Smalls argue that workers and grassroots unions need to be supported by the city as the labor system remains outdated and underfunded.
“New York City has to pick a side. Are they going to be with the working class, or with their corporate donors and billionaires? New York has the most billionaires in the country, and they don’t represent this city,” said Smalls.
Smalls believes that Unions in the U.S. would be more powerful if their density assimilated that of other countries where worker unions counted with at least 90% membership.
He believes that the reason why the membership rate is declining is because of systemic issues that don’t allow people to learn about unions and withhold resources.
“Unions are not being taught in our classrooms. Kids don’t learn the history of labor. On career day they still bring in police officers and firefighters instead of union leaders,” said Smalls.
“Systematically, the National Labor Relations Board is in debt and understaffed. Trump gutted it in his first 10 days, and Biden let it stay broken. Labor laws haven’t been updated. That’s why we’re here in 2025 with union density declining every day.”