A powerful labor union is helping Mayor de Blasio woo the Democratic National Convention to Brooklyn in 2016, the Daily News has learned.
The Hotel Trades Council, which represents 32,000 hotel workers, is planning to spend tens of thousands of dollars to boost Brooklyn over the other two finalists, Philadelphia and Columbus, Ohio.
Part of the pitch will focus on reminding the selection committee that the Democratic nominee will need substantial labor support to counter the super PAC support that a Republican opponent is expected to receive, said Hotel Trades political director Josh Gold.
Gold pointed out that New York’s hotel rooms are largely staffed by union members making middle-class wages.
“There are double the number of unionized hotel rooms within 30 minutes of Barclays Center than there are total hotel rooms in Philadelphia and Columbus combined,” said Gold.
Philadelphia has about 45,000 hotel rooms, Columbus has 25,000 and New York has 110,000 rooms — 80,000 of them union-staffed, compared with 5,000 union-staffed hotel rooms in Philadelphia and none in Columbus — said the Hotel Trades Council.
De Blasio has been fighting hard to make the case for a Brooklyn convention. Last week, he held a pep rally at City Hall, arguing that the convention should come to his home borough because “Brooklyn’s story is America’s story.”
