UAW Region 9A’s Big Risks in NYC’s Elections Paid Off
While most unions played it safe in New York’s recent elections, UAW Region 9A and its director, Brandon Mancilla, took big swings in supporting progressive and socialist insurgent candidates like Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier — and won.
Brandon Mancilla, Claire Valdez, Darializa Avila Chevalier, and Brad Lander particiapte in a rally with Columbia Postdoctoral Workers (CPW-UAW Local 4100) at Haven Plaza at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, on June 30, 2026. (Michael Nagle / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Brandon Mancilla is very happy.
For the United Auto Workers (UAW) Region 9A Director and a Democratic Socialists of America member, June’s New York primary elections were a massive success. Speaking with Jacobin a week later, hours before a rally supporting Columbia University postdoctoral workers, the victory was still fresh.
“Going into 2026, there were zero UAW 9A members in Congress. At the start of 2027, we will have two,” he says proudly, referring to Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier. Both had just won congressional primaries after running insurgent campaigns where their main opponents — Antonio Reynoso and Adriano Espaillat, respectively — had received the vast majority of organized labor’s endorsements and support.
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