New York State AFL-CIO (NYS AFL-CIO) President Mario Cilento was elected to a full four-year term by the delegates to the state federation’s convention in New York City this week. He was first elected in 2011 by the NYS AFL-CIO Executive Council to complete the term of Denis Hughes who retired.

Cilento told the delegates that the state federation will mobilize the New York union movement’s 2.5 million members in the public sector, private sector and building trades. “We will educate and engage them year-round from Buffalo to Montauk and Plattsburgh to Brooklyn.”

Elected officials will understand that there is a connection between legislation and politics, and those that do not support our members—their constituents—will not earn our support on Election Day….Our opponents may be able to outspend us by vast amounts, but they will never be able to buy our heart or the commitment and dedication we have to one another.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka reinforced Cilento’s call to action saying: 

When the far Right and the corporate conservatives look at the labor movement, they want to tear us apart, so they can take us down—one by one. As that old saying goes, 'first they’re coming for the public employees. Then they’ll come for the building trades. Then they’ll try to pick off the rest of us, industry-by-industry, occupation-by-occupation, union-by-union.'

But we’re not going to fall for that, because we’re going to stand together: public employees and private-sector workers; blue-collar and white-collar. Working people from every industry and every heritage—standing stronger together.

Terrence Melvin was re-elected secretary-treasurer. He is also the president of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU).