NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) — Sen. Bernie Sanders visited New York City Sunday to launch “Union Now,” a new non-profit organization designed to boost worker power across the nation.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO, Sara Nelson joined him.
“If the middle class of this country is going to survive, we must understand that status quo politics and status quo economics is no longer good enough,” said Sen. Sanders at a rally at Terminal 5 attended by hundreds of union workers across different sectors and industries.
“AI and robots are coming for human jobs. Worker protections are being eroded,” said Mayor Mamdani.
According to the organizers, Union Now will achieve that goal by offering resources and coordination nationwide.
Missions include raising money to directly support workers who are organizing and striking, as well as building a network of unions to support one another’s campaigns, financially or strategically.
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“Too often, the boss has all the power to starve workers during a fight. Union Now will work with unions directly to ensure workers have the means to win,” said Nelson.
“When it comes to striking, when it comes to public actions, a lot of those things cost money and it’s a lot of time, dedication and efforts coming from the workers,” said Brittany Norris, Delta AFA Organizing Committee member and flight attendant.
Union leaders and workers also spoke at Sunday’s rally to share stories of struggle and argue why Union Now is needed.
“We continuously hear about the profits, and the profits, and the profits that our industry is making, but then we’re begging for a raise that comes up close to what the cost of living increase is every year,” said Norris.
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