Former Amazon Labor Union director becomes deputy press secretary focused on worker issues
Cassio Mendoza, the former press secretary for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, joined Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s press team February 18 as deputy press secretary focused on economic justice and labor issues. Mendoza’s background in labor organizingincluding directing communications for the Amazon Labor Union during its historic Staten Island organizing campaignsignals Mamdani’s commitment to centering worker voices in city communications. Mendoza will report to Joe Calvello, lead press secretary, and work closely with Julie Su, Mamdani’s deputy mayor for economic justice. The hire represents strategic effort to build press operations that authentically represent administration’s working-class and progressive commitments.
Who Is Cassio Mendoza: Labor Organizer Turned Communications Director
Mendoza, a California native, became prominent through labor movement work. As communications director for the Amazon Labor Union, he helped coordinate messaging during the Staten Island warehouse organizing campaign. That campaign, despite ultimately failing to win union recognition, represented one of the most significant labor efforts in a decade. Mendoza’s work during that campaign earned respect from labor organizers nationwide. From 2023 forward, Mendoza served as press secretary for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, handling communications in America’s third-largest city. Johnson’s tenure was marked by budget pressures, public safety challenges, and contentious relationship with City Council. Mendoza navigated these challenges, often defending Johnson’s positions against intense criticism.
The Amazon Labor Union Background: Authenticity in Worker Communications
The ALU organizing campaign captured national attention as first Amazon warehouse organizing effort in country. The campaign ultimately did not secure union certification, but it energized labor movement and demonstrated worker militancy. Mendoza’s work communicating the campaign reflected genuine commitment to worker power. He did not present union demands as charity; instead, he framed organizing as workers asserting fundamental right to collective power. This authentic approach to labor communications is rare in city government. Previous Mamdani administration communications staff, while generally progressive, lacked direct labor organizing experience. Mendoza brings grassroots credibility.
Why Mamdani Recruited Mendoza: Authentic Voice for Working Class
Joe Calvello, Mamdani’s lead press secretary, also has progressive background. He worked for Bernie Sanders in 2020 and for Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison in 2018. Calvello knew Mendoza’s work and recognized value of bringing proven labor communications expertise into City Hall. “For him to return to New York, to this specific mayor’s City Hall, it’s really full circle,” Calvello said. Calvello and Mendoza both have ties to Pennsylvania, where they have worked on campaigns. The two have established relationship and shared understanding of progressive movement communications.
Mamdani’s Press Operation: Progressive Communications Strategy
Mamdani’s press team reflects commitment to daily accessibility and transparency. Unlike Adams administration, which held infrequent press conferences and maintained considerable distance from journalists, Mamdani holds near-daily press conferences sometimes multiple times per day. The team meets reporters in communities, not just in City Hall press room. This approach acknowledges that press interactions are opportunities to directly communicate with working people. Mamdani’s communications director Anna Bahr previously worked for Bernie Sanders. Senior Adviser Monica Klein, Senior Spokesperson Dora Pekec, and Deputy Communications Director Lekha Sunder all bring progressive organizing backgrounds. This team composition signals that communications strategy is rooted in movement rather than mainstream political establishment.
Economic Justice Focus: Mendoza’s Specific Mandate
Mendoza will focus specifically on economic justice and labor-related communications. This includes messaging around minimum wage increases, union protection, workers’ rights enforcement, housing policy, and wage theft prevention. Mendoza will coordinate closely with Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su, a labor rights attorney who led California’s labor enforcement efforts. Su and Mendoza represent serious commitment to worker power within administration. Their close coordination ensures that communications reflect and advance substantive policy agenda.
Contrast with Chicago: A Different Kind of Mayor
Mamdani’s press operations represent stark contrast to Johnson’s Chicago operation. Johnson has had rocky relationship with press, occasionally adopting confrontational tone. Johnson struggled with public perceptions and at times blamed media coverage for challenges his administration faced. Mamdani has taken opposite approach. Despite facing comparable budget crises and systemic challenges, Mamdani has maintained openness to press and sustained positive public messaging. This contrasts with Johnson’s approach of blaming external actors for problems.
The Broader Communications Strategy: Building Trust with Base
Hiring Mendoza signals Mamdani is investing in communications capacity to reach working-class constituencies directly. Press operations are not just about responding to journalists; they are about shaping how policies and administration actions are understood by public. An experienced labor organizer in press office brings ability to communicate with worker constituencies in authentic language using strategies proven effective in organizing. This represents deliberate effort to keep administration accountable to base.
What Mendoza Will Face: Challenges and Opportunities
Mendoza enters New York City administration during period of significant challenge. Budget crises, homelessness, housing scarcity, and public safety concerns all demand strong communication. Mendoza will need to explain difficult tradeoffs and policy choices to skeptical audiences. Yet he will also have opportunity to advance worker power agenda through strategic communications. Building pressure on Albany to approve wealth taxes, communicating worker rights enforcement actions, and defending worker-protective policies are among key issues.
The Talent Pipeline: Where Will Mamdani Recruit Next?
Mendoza’s hire reflects conscious recruitment strategy targeting people with authentic movement credentials rather than traditional political communications background. This strategy will likely continue as Mamdani builds administration. Rather than recruiting from political establishment, administration is recruiting from labor, tenant rights, environmental justice, and other movement spaces. This approach builds different kind of administrationone embedded in constituencies rather than separate from them. See Amazon Labor Union organizing campaign information. Learn about NYC Mayor’s Office and policy agenda.
