Forget Mamdani. Mayor Whitmire is the real left-wing Labor Day hero.

Listen to Texas Republicans and you might think that the November ballot was overflowing with radical socialists. Alas, it isn't — at least not according to the Houston branch of the Democratic Socialists of America. They told me they don't have any endorsed candidates this year. Nor have I met any socialists during the editorial board's candidate interviews. If you're looking for a local left-wing politician, though, just check out City Hall. That's because Mayor John Whitmire may very well be the most left-leaning mayor of my lifetime. That claim may sound absurd if you associate leftist politics with, say, riding a bike to an anti-ICE protest while wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh. But if you believe that the real core tenet of leftism is siding with workers in the inexorable, humanity-defining conflict between labor and capital — like, say, the workers who founded Labor Day — then Whitmire has a leg up on New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Just look at our mayor's track record of pro-worker and pro-union wins at City Hall. Whitmire settled the city's longstanding fight with the Houston Professional Firefighters Association, delivering a $1.5 billion settlement that included not only $650 million in backpay and a 34% raise, but also wins for the union on issues relating to accountability. For example, it lets the union pick half of the civil service commissioners, and requires unanimous approval for any termination or demotion. Skeptics will say that the fire union is just a conservative-friendly organization. But there isn't anything right wing about Whitmire raising the city's minimum wage to $18 per hour and allowing municipal retirees to keep their city insurance until they qualify for Medicare. Whitmire also signed a contract delivering a 36.5% pay hike for police officers in a deal that not only raised starting pay to $75,000, but also delivered the union wins on issues like overtime. DSA types might insist that police don't count as their comrades, but from the pure perspective of labor vs. capital, a union is a union. And Houston's other labor unions have been racking up win after win wherever Whitmire has influence. There was the 40-day strike at the city-owned Hilton Americas — the first of its kind in Texas — that resulted in the Unite Here Local 23 union successfully negotiating a $20 minimum wage for hotel workers, with a promised future payraise, lighter workloads and a 401(k) option. Whitmire refused to cross the picket line and delayed his State of the City address until the strike was settled. And when the union emerged victorious, he celebrated alongside them. The mayor also celebrated with the Service Employees International Union Texas when he signed a new contract for unionized airport workers, including concessionaires and subcontractors, that raised their minimum wage to $20 immediately and $23 by 2028. To quote SEIU Texas President Elsa Flores, that win was only possible because of 'the unwavering support of pro-labor leaders like Mayor John Whitmire.' Housekeepers and concession workers at the George R. Brown Convention Center also won similar deals. That means the city-created Houston First Corporation will be getting the bill for 'some of the highest-paid dishwashers, bartenders and cashiers' anywhere in the city, according to the Texas chapter president of Unite Here Local 23. And the Teamsters won a big pay increase for Metro bus drivers even as the Whitmire administration tries to cut transit services. All of that is to say that it is a good time to be a worker — especially a unionized worker — employed by Houston or one of its quasi-governmental spinoffs. Compare that record to Whitmire's predecessor, Mayor Sylvester Turner. His biggest win was delivering a $2.5 billion rollback in pension benefits for police, fire and municipal workers. Great for taxpayers but not the unions. Whitmire, on the other hand, worked in Austin to undo some of those reforms. Turner also spent his mayoralty clashing with the firefighter union, notably opposing a pay increase approved by voters at the ballot box. He even lost the endorsement of the Houston Federation of Teachers after his administration tried to beat the firefighters by challenging the collective bargaining rights of all public employees. Before Turner there was Mayor Annise Parker, who imposed unpaid furloughs, eliminated 747 city jobs and extracted two-year pay freezes from the police, fire and municipal workers unions. There's a reason why Houston's first lesbian mayor was praised by the right-wing Texas Conservative Review for being 'the most fiscally conservative mayor in over a decade.' In comparison to Parker, who didn't hesitate to lay off workers when necessary, Whitmire started his time in office with more than 700 voluntary buyouts at taxpayer expense. And before Parker there was Bill White, who fought with city unions to cut $1 billion from pension benefits. You won't see Whitmire at a local DSA meeting. No Republican is going to accuse him of being a communist. He'll never be confused for Mamdani, who remains a leftist darling while fighting with New York City's teachers union over pay bonuses. Whitmire is a real-deal pro-worker politician who delivers higher pay, better benefits and more power for organized labor. So if you want to celebrate the real meaning of Labor Day, make sure to send a little appreciation to Houston's left-wing mayor.