The head of the powerful Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, blasted Nithya Raman on Wednesday, calling the city council member an \u201copportunist\u201d for launching a campaign to unseat Mayor Karen Bass after previously signaling her support for Bass.<\/p>\n
Federation president Yvonne Wheeler said in a statement that her organization, which represents an estimated 800,000 workers, will \u201cuse every tool\u201d in its arsenal to get Bass reelected.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Donald Trump\u2019s ongoing war against the people of Los Angeles, our working families and immigrant communities, now is not the time for distractions from a political opportunist \u2014 especially one who backed the Mayor\u2019s re-election campaign just weeks ago,\u201d Wheeler said.<\/p>\n
Raman, whose district stretches from Silver Lake to Reseda, was announced as one of the mayor\u2019s endorsers on Jan. 27 in a campaign press release listing Bass\u2019 San Fernando Valley supporters. Two days later, she appeared in a second campaign press release as one of Bass\u2019 female endorsers.<\/p>\n
Raman launched her own last-minute mayoral bid<\/a> on Saturday, saying that City Hall is unable to \u201cmanage the basics.\u201d<\/p>\n The primary election is June 2, followed by a November runoff if no candidate secures a majority of the vote.<\/p>\n Raman\u2019s campaign team did not immediately respond to Wheeler\u2019s assertions after being contacted by The Times.<\/p>\n In her statement, Wheeler described Bass as a \u201clifelong progressive\u201d while suggesting that Raman, whose council campaigns were backed by the Democratic Socialists of America and several other progressive groups, falls short on that front.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t truly be progressive unless you are a true champion of working people,\u201d she said. \u201cKaren Bass is the only candidate in this race who meets that criteria.\u201d<\/p>\n The federation represents about 300 labor organizations in L.A. County, including unions representing teachers, social workers, construction trades and entertainment industry workers. In previous city elections, the group has spent big on its favored candidates, paying for campaign materials, door-to-door canvassers and other expenses.<\/p>\n Raman broke with the labor federation and her colleagues in September, voting against the $2.6-billion expansion of the Los Angeles Convention Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n Before that vote, labor unions said the upgrade would generate much-needed construction jobs at a time when housing production has been down. Raman and Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky warned the project was too financially risky and would saddle the city with significant budget shortfalls starting in 2031 \u2014 after Bass is out of office.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I fear is that we\u2019re going to have a beautiful new Convention Center surrounded by far more homelessness than we have today, which will drive away tourists, which will prevent people from coming here and holding their events here,\u201d Raman said at the time.<\/p>\n Bass supported the project, as did a majority of the council.<\/p>\n