Progressive challenger Brandon Johnson lands another big union endorsement
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An influential labor group with ties to the Chicago Teachers Union announced its endorsement of Brandon Johnson for mayor on Wednesday, adding to the list of labor organizations opting to back the Cook County commissioner over other progressives, including U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García.
The Service Employees International Union Local 73 revealed its pick in the 2023 election outside the county government offices downtown, officially joining CTU in its quest to see Mayor Lori Lightfoot replaced in the February election with someone closer aligned with their interests.
Dian Palmer, president of Local 73, stood before a sea of purple shirt-clad union members and introduced Johnson as “the most progressive candidate.”
“It’s no longer business as usual,” Palmer said. “Chicago needs a revitalization ... and I believe Brandon Johnson can do that. Brandon Johnson is the only candidate who has been with our communities in the fight for fully funded schools, affordable housing, jobs and access to mental health care.”
Johnson returned the love, casting the service workers’ union as “the voice of the city of Chicago.” He lambasted Lightfoot for what he said was repeatedly underestimating and ignoring labor before seeking to differentiate himself as the true progressive in the race.
“My father is a pastor, and I will just say what he would say to me: that there are some that are called, but only a few are chosen. In this case, only one is chosen and that’s me,” Johnson said, to cheers, when asked about whether the progressive field was getting too crowded.
Johnson, a longtime organizer with CTU, accepted the teachers union’s endorsement and $59,900 political contribution earlier in September, shortly before he joined the race.
Nabbing support from two heavyweights in the Chicago labor space gives the union-friendly Johnson a critical boost in his bid to stand out amid a crowded field of progressives also jockeying to unseat Lightfoot. The political might of both unions has grown in the past decade, particularly in the case of CTU, although the mayoral candidates they most recently lined up behind — Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle in 2019 and García in 2015 — failed to win.
The SEIU announcement also further complicates how Garcíam a darling of the political left, will maneuver the field if he enters the race, which appears to be all but certain.
To be sure, he has wider name recognition among Chicagoans than Johnson and forced then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel into a runoff election during his last campaign. But with CTU and a key SEIU local rallying behind Johnson this time around, Garcia’s path forward is murkier.
Palmer said she did have a conversation with García, but Johnson proved himself to be a stronger ally to the union, even supporting the labor organization during its 18-day strike by Cook County workers that infuriated Preckwinkle: “At Cook County, Brandon stood up for us. When others were going in the other direction away from us, Brandon stood with us.”
Asked about whether backing a union recently at odds with Preckwinkle, with whom he has a close relationship, proved tricky, Johnson said, “There’s nothing awkward about standing on the side of workers.” Members of the SEIU crowd nodded and said “all right” behind him.
Earlier last month, Johnson told the Tribune that he was in talks with SEIU Local 73, which represents non-teacher workers in Chicago Public Schools, regarding an endorsement.
The union has more than 31,000 service workers in schools, government, social services and more throughout Illinois and Indiana. There are two other chapters of SEIU based in Chicago: Local 1, which represents maintenance and janitorial workers, and Healthcare, both of which have previously matched Local 73′s endorsements but have not yet announced their picks.
In recent years, Lightfoot has attempted to work with SEIU leaders and even hired the executive director of the SEIU Illinois State Council, Beniamino Capellupo, as a senior adviser working with labor unions. But despite quietly building a productive relationship with some SEIU leaders, it’s not clear if she will be able to translate that into formal support.
Johnson, meanwhile, has been working to raise money and earn endorsements from labor groups, including his teachers union base. Since its initial donation to Johnson, CTU contributed an additional $11,250 to his political committee last month. Johnson has collected $150,000 in contributions from the Illinois Federation of Teachers, and the American Federation of Teachers has pledged $1 million to his race. The unions representing local carpenters and electrical workers also donated to Johnson’s political fund.
Lightfoot has long wrangled with CTU and other progressive organizations during her first term. She led the city’s response to an 11-day strike teachers strike in 2019 and multiple rounds of standoffs with the union during the COVID-19 pandemic over her plan to return to in-person schooling. Though CTU was at the forefront of these labor disputes, SEIU Local 73 joined CTU in its 2019 walkout and has mostly aligned with the teachers’ union in its demands.
For her part, Lightfoot has argued that she is a progressive mayor, and has a constructive rapport with some labor leaders who appreciate her record on worker issues.
In her first few months as mayor in 2019, Lightfoot pushed through the fair workweek ordinance that requires large Chicago employers to give workers at least two weeks’ notice of their schedules and compensate them for last-minute changes. Later that year, Lightfoot passed her first budget, which set the stage for a $15 minimum wage long sought by local unions.
When Lightfoot secured support within City Council to lay the groundwork for Chicago’s first casino, she stood alongside Chicago Federation of Labor President Bob Reiter and members of UNITE HERE Local 1, which represents hospitality workers, in a celebratory news conference.
Besides Johnson, state Rep. Kambium “Kam” Buckner, Ald. Sophia King, Ald. Roderick Sawyer and activist Ja’Mal Green are mayoral candidates styling themselves as progressives. Also in the race are businessman Willie Wilson, Ald. Raymond Lopez and former CPS CEO Paul Vallas.
Johnson first won public office in 2018, when he defeated Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin in the Democratic primary for his West Side district after the incumbent earned the ire of organized labor by voting against the county’s soda tax. Before that, Johnson was a CPS teacher.
In Johnson’s time on the County Board, he’s pushed a measure making it illegal to refuse to show or rent property to people with certain criminal records. He also drafted a symbolic resolution that supported diverting money from policing in the wake of nationwide protests demanding police budgets be defunded.
He reiterated his criticism of the political establishment at a recent mayoral candidates’ forum, vowing to not increase the Chicago police budget before decrying, “Can we just be honest? They don’t want Black people here,” regarding policies such as demolishing public housing, closing schools or Lightfoot’s recent move to raise bridges during the civil unrest of 2020.
