PSC members helped push Zohran Mamdani across the finish line in the Democratic Party primary for mayor. But the union’s legislative committee was also busy this spring, with members working for several progressive City Council campaigns, winning in their primary contests.
City Council Member Alexa Avilés of Brooklyn, supported by the PSC. (Credit: Emil Cohen/NYC Council Media Unit)
For Heather James, the union’s legislative chair, these victories happened because individual committee members and other PSC members worked tirelessly in the district and focused their energies at the grassroots level. These victories will help keep the City Council progressive and attuned to the PSC, as well as education advocates and trade unionists generally.
“The PSC’s strategic ranked choice endorsement, which included Zohran Mamdani, and the excitement around his campaign, drew many members into our electoral work,” James said, noting that the momentum behind Mamdani raised public awareness of the PSC’s electoral activism this year.
“Committee members and others served as City Council primary District Captains in support of council candidates throughout the city,” James said. “All five of our priority council candidates won their races, and we engaged new members in phone banking, door knocking, house parties and rallies. The work of the Legislation Committee continues to expand as we grow our political presence. With the labor movement in jeopardy and higher education under attack at the national level, our work is critical.”
BROOKLYN ACTION
Arturo Enamorado, a lecturer in behavioral sciences at Kingsborough Community College, spent much of the spring campaigning for the re-election of Council Member Alexa Avilés of Brooklyn. He recalled being impressed with her electoral work when he met her in 2023.
“We had a long chat about unions and organizing working-class people of color, and when I had the opportunity to be her district captain, it was like helping my neighbor, though I live in Jamaica, Queens,” he said. “From the PSC standpoint, Alexa Avilés has always stood firm for our students and members, voting against budgets that would effectively cut our work. Further, she consistently held Chancellor Félix Matos Rodríguez accountable and asked direct questions about the lack of stable leadership across the community colleges, mine included. She has never forgotten her Baruch College education and is a true leader.”
He added, “For her campaign, I was deeply involved from the beginning, helping carry petitions and eventually door knocking in Red Hook, Sunset Park and Bensonhurst. On election day, I did poll site visibility and worked with other PSC members in the record heat to do a Central Labor Council door knocking in the district.”
Karen Miller, a professor of history at LaGuardia Community College, campaigned for City Council Member Shahana Hanif of Brooklyn, who has been a vocal PSC supporter over the years. Miller recalled that she was especially impressed with Hanif’s support for the PSC at a press conference in defense of higher education in April.
“Shahana Hanif spoke at this event and I was excited that she represents me. She is co-chair of the Progressive Caucus and talked about specific legislation that she was introducing to help protect New Yorkers from deportation,” Miller said. “It was around then that I found out she was being challenged in the primary by someone who was bankrolled by real estate and big business interests. Furthermore, Hanif is the first Muslim city councilperson, and Islamophobia was clearly an element of the discourse that was being used against her. Her opponent, Maya Kornberg, was positioning herself as progressive, but only in the vaguest and most disingenuous terms, and her literature was paid for by Uber.”
JEWS FOR SHAHANA
Miller added, “I joined the Jews for Shahana email group and then found out about the legislative committee’s efforts to recruit district captains. Laura Tanenbaum [PSC chapter chair at LGCC] and I both live in Kensington and she was starting to get involved and recruited me. She is always my go-to person about elections, so it was fitting.”
Miller said that Hanif’s race was an important one for CUNY faculty and staff. “I need CUNY to be funded and defended by elected officials,” Miller said. “She went to Brooklyn College and is clearly very committed to CUNY and to public education. I also like her K-12 positions and stand with her on other policy questions.”
Patience Yeboah, a senior academic transfer advisor at John Jay College, worked on the campaign for Elsie Encarnacion, running for a district covering East Harlem and parts of the Bronx. “My district begins at the end of Elsie’s district,” she said. “We are connected, so our representatives need to be for the people and the community. As a participant in the PSC Leadership Training program, I wanted to focus on a project that increased my engagement in political activism at the local level.”
Also in the Bronx, Remysell Salas, an adjunct lecturer in ethnic and race studies at Borough of Manhattan College, served in leadership capacities both for Pierina Ana Sanchez of the City Council and for Mamdani.
“My work in the Bronx has always been rooted in long-term relationship-building, with an eye not just on the present political landscape, but on where we’re headed,” he said. “I’ve consistently mobilized relationships with local organizations, community leaders and University stakeholders, ensuring our collective work is aligned with the needs of the district.”
For the Legislative Committee of the PSC, building power in the Bronx is vital for the public higher education agenda. “The Bronx is not just significant, it’s strategic. With campuses like Lehman College, Bronx Community College and Hostos, we have a high concentration of PSC members, students and faculty who live, work and organize in the borough,” he said. “That gives us not only human capital, but real political leverage. If we mobilize effectively, we can shift the conversation and the priorities around public higher education in this city.”
GROW THE BASE
Salas added, “To grow our political influence, we need to activate our base. I would like to see more students and members stepping into action, not just during campaigns or crises, but as part of a sustained, visible movement. We can and should be louder, more present and more consistent in the Bronx. This also means showing up where decisions are made: trustee meetings, community boards, town halls and legislative offices. We need to be known not only for our demands, but for our commitment to the communities we serve. That visibility builds credibility and influence.”
All of the City Council candidates who were endorsed by the PSC won their primaries, including in five open seats. They were Christopher Marte, Harvey Epstein, Erik Bottcher, Gale Brewer, Shaun Abreu, Elsie Encarnacion, Carmen De La Rosa, Kevin Riley, Pierina Ana Sanchez, Oswald Feliz, Justin Sanchez, Amanda Farías, Tiffany Cabán, Shekar Krishnan, Nantasha Williams, Ty Hankerson, Lynn Schulman, Lincoln Restler, Jennifer Gutiérrez, Crystal Hudson, Chi Ossé, Sandy Nurse, Alexa Avilés, Shahana Hanif, Rita Joseph, Farah Louis and Kayla Santosuosso.
The committee hopes that it can harness this energy for the next election cycle.
“We cannot mourn, we must organize,” Enamorado said. “I have my feet moving toward the general election, looking to reach voters who have felt ignored but are also in organized labor. Still, I am already looking to the next Democratic primary for the state legislature.”
Miller noted that the next step for the union is working to hold elected officials accountable.
“Continuing to work with City Council and elected officials is an important part of any union’s larger strategy,” she said. “We need to push all of the City Council and all elected officials to support and protect CUNY, its students and its workers.”
The legislative committee meets every third Tuesday of the month at 6:30 pm on Zoom. Meetings are on the PSC calendar and open to all union members.
Published: September 12, 2025
