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October 7, 2009                                                                             (212) 205-0075


Local 237 Teamsters Says the Mayor "has shown the leadership to defend the working men and women of this city" and becomes the 37th Union to Endorse Him for the General Election

Mayor Bloomberg today picked up a key endorsement from one of the largest municipal labor unions in the City – Local 237 Teamsters. An integral part of keeping our schools safe and maintaining the City’s vast stock of public housing, Local 237 praised the Mayor’s record of reducing school violence and his commitment to improving the City’s public housing developments.  With today’s endorsement, the Mayor has secured the support of 37 labor organizations, representing over 600,000 working men and women in New York City

Local 237 Teamsters is the largest local of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in the country, representing 23,400 workers and 7,100 retirees in New York City and Long Island. Local 237’s members include 9,000 workers in the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), 5,000 School Safety Agents and thousands of other workers in a wide range of city agencies. Local 237 members help protect the city’s students in our schools, the elderly in our senior centers, patients in our hospitals and defendants in the court system. Founded in 1952 with only 900 members, Local 237 has grown over the past 57 years to become one of the most respected and influential unions in New York.

“I am proud to endorse Mayor Michael Bloomberg for re-election,” said Local 237 Teamsters President Gregory Floyd. “Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been a strong partner with Local 237 in our efforts to protect public housing and keep our schools safe. The Mayor prevented large scale layoffs and ensured fair contracts by preparing for the fiscal crisis before it happened. We need to keep Mayor Michael Bloomberg in City Hall because he has shown the leadership to defend the working men and women of this city who make life better for all New York residents.”

Under Mayor Bloomberg’s leadership the City has seen a 44% reduction in school violence, a fact that has contributed to rising test scores, double digit improvements in the graduation rates, and a dramatic reduction in the achievement gap.

“One of the most humbling aspects of running for re-election is the hundreds of thousands of working men and women that are getting behind this campaign,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “We have worked extensively to improve our City over the last 8 years, and we couldn’t have done that without the support of Local 237.  I want to thank them for their endorsement, and pledge to work even harder if I’m given the chance to serve four more years.”

 In April, the Mayor announced $423 million in federal stimulus funding from the American Recovery and Re-investment Act (ARRA) that would go directly to NYCHA developments.  ARRA funding will aid roughly 70 projects that include boiler replacement, elevator repairs and other maintenance, repair and efficiency upgrades throughout public housing developments in the five boroughs.

In addition to utilizing ARRA funding, Mayor Bloomberg has also worked to make public housing safer than is has been in decades. Mike created Operation Safe Housing, a program that takes aim at drug dealing, sex crimes and gun violence in public housing by speeding up the process of eviction hearings for tenants involved in these crimes. The Mayor also installed cameras in NYCHA developments that have a history of criminal activity, and will expand the network of cameras to other locations where crimes frequently take place in order to catch criminals in the act.

In September, Mike announced a plan to expand the NYPD use of GPS technology, specifically to deter gang activity in public housing by using GPS technology in appropriate cases as a bail or sentence condition to keep gang members away from other gang members and gang-affiliated locations.

 The Mayor’s campaign is building one of the broadest coalitions of labor support for any candidate in the history of New York mayoral campaigns. With today’s endorsement by the Local 237 Teamsters, the campaign has secured the support of 37 labor organizations representing over 600,000 working men and women in New York City including: New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council-AFL-CIO, 32BJ SEIU, Teamsters Joint Council 16, The Building and Construction Trades Council of New York, the Sergeants Benevolent Association, the Detectives Endowment Association, the Lieutenants Benevolent Association, the Captain’s Endowment Association, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Production Service and Sales District Council and UFCW Locals 1500, 2D, 342, 348S, 359, 815S and 517S; New York City Uniformed Sanitationmen’s Association; DC 37 Locals 983 – New York City Motor Vehicle Operators and Local 376 – New York City Construction Laborers; Local 12 - Heat and Frost Insulators Union, Workers United, The Mason Tenders District Council of New York, OPEIU, United Association Local One - the New York City Plumbers Union, NYC District Council of Carpenters, New York 10-13 Association, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Local 147 - NYC Sandhogs, Local 638 – Steamfitters, Teamsters Local 210, Teamsters Local 553, Teamsters Local 917, Local 79 - Construction and General Building Laborers, Local 1261 - Lay Faculty Association, Local 66 - General Building Laborers, and Local 279 - Association of Professional and Specialty Workers.

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