New York fared better than most states when it came to union-endorsed candidates retaining seats in state races,and in a national election that saw control of the U.S. House of Representatives shift to the Republicans.

In New York, 158 of the 178 endorsed state and national candidates emerged victorious, with results in several races still pending as The Voice went to press. But the outline of a bull’s eye is still silhouetted on the backs of union members, and public education will likely remain a target in these difficult economic times.

With the election behind him, Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo is assembling his transition team and moving forward with developing his Executive Budget proposal for 2011-2012. The task won’t be easy; Cuomo inherits an expected budget deficit of some $9 billion.

“Times are challenging, but we look forward to opening a dialogue with the new governor and his administration to prove the value of preserving an affordable, accessible public higher education system—one that provides the children of working families with the skills needed to contribute to the state’s economy,” said UUP President Phil Smith.

AFT leaders agree that tough times lie ahead.

“Labor is facing a very challenging landscape in this country,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten. “We’ll have to confront attacks on pensions, on seniority, on tenure, on collective bargaining. And we’ll have to be prepared to fight against other policies that will strain the social fabric and undermine the programs that have helped to provide security and stability for our communities.”

“Nothing that happened on Election Day changes this essential fact: Your unions are strong; we focus on the work and on doing what’s right for our members, the people for whom we work, and our communities,” Weingarten added. “That’s what we did the day before the election, and it’s what we will continue to do in the days, weeks and months ahead.”

NEW YORK VICTORIES

Aware of what was at stake, UUP and NYSUT members went to work to elect endorsed candidates with a record of support for public higher education. They volunteered for the candidates, held candidate forums and staffed several phone banks around the state

The results clearly showed their hard work paid off.

In New York, endorsed candidates who came out on top include Tom DiNapoli, elected to his first full term as comptroller; Eric Schneiderman, chosen as the new attorney general; Charles Schumer, re-elected to the U.S. Senate; and Kirsten Gillibrand, elected to fill the remaining two years of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s U.S. Senate term. Of the 27 candidates endorsed for election to the U.S. House of Representatives, 20 came out ahead, with one other race still undecided as The Voice went to press.

In state Senate races, 31 of 34 endorsed candidates rolled to victory. One more was still in the running in a race that was too close to call. In the state Assembly, 103 of the 113 endorsed candidates won.

— Karen L. Mattison and Donald Feldstein