Democratic candidates on Long Island recently received support from the biggest teacher’s union in New York as they campaigned to regain control of three congressional seats lost in 2020 that helped give Republicans a narrow majority in the House.

NYSUT, which is a federation of more than 1,200 local unions, hosted a campaign event — dubbed Common Ground over Chaos — to bring both parties together and agree over common issues. At the rally on Aug. 15, it endorsed Democrat Laura Gillen, running against incumbent Republican Congressman Anthony D’Esposito for the 1st Congressional District seat; Democrat John Avlon, running for re-election against GOP Congressman Nicholas LaLota in the 3rd Congressional District; and Democrat Tom Suozzi, running against Republican Mike LiPetri for the 4th Congressional District seat.

All of the candidates signed the Common Ground over Chaos pledge, committing to bipartisanship and finding common ground with their colleagues in congress.

In 2020, D’Esposito, LaLota and former Congressman George Santos, who was later expelled, were voted into office, which helped flip the House to a slim Republican majority. With the 2024 election rapidly approaching, these battleground districts are once again up for grabs. Democratic candidates in these districts are campaigning — now alongside NYSUT.

NYSUT has nearly 700,000 people who work in, or are retired from, NY schools, colleges, and healthcare facilities. Ric Stark, board member of NYSUT, said the group knows what they want for their communities, which are politicians who support healthcare, safe infrastructure, and strong public schools.

“These congressional races are vital,” Stark said. “Without a functional Congress, we can’t go anywhere with these issues. That’s why we are directing so much of our attention to these races.”

Stark said the basis of the Common Ground over Chaos pledge is for both parties to come together and “focus on the common ground.” The pledge calls for “practical solutions over partisanship, collaboration over confrontation, strengthening democratic institutions, local focus and national impact, transparency and accountability, and civic engagement.”

Gillen said educators make a “dramatic impact” on the lives of students across the country, including herself when her second-grade teacher “fostered a sense of creativity” in her. She said she is looking forward to being “part of the NYSUT family.”

“To come together and sign this pledge was an easy decision for me,” Gillen said. “We are looking at one of the least productive Congresses in our lifetime where we have seen an attack on education, where extremist members of Congress, including my opponent, have voted for drastic funding cuts that would remove up to 145,000 teachers and staff from our schools.”

Gillen said Congress can do so much more if the members would start working together. She said she wants to be part of that unity and start solving problems in Congress. However, her opponent, D’Esposito, argued that he has a better track record of closing the partisan gap.

“Congressman Anthony D’Esposito has made bipartisanship a hallmark of his tenure in government, having worked with colleagues across the aisle first as a town councilman, and now as a member of Congress,” Matt Capp, communications director for D’Esposito, said. “D’Esposito serves on the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, and continues to work collaboratively across the ideological spectrum to advance pro-Long Island policies like removing the SALT cap, successfully halting Gov. Hochul’s congestion pricing tax, and securing critical funding for South Shore communities.“

“‘Common Ground over Chaos’,” Avlon said. “What a concept, right? It is common sense, but common sense is in uncommon supply right now in Congress.”

Avlon said he believes that there are always more things that unite Americans than divide them. This, he said, is how democracy works and how everyone can reason together.

Avlon’s opponent, Congressman LaLota, said that NYSUT is a “far-left NYS teachers union” that only endorses Democrats. He said that the group’s calling for bipartisanship is disingenuous.

“Congressman LaLota, who is married to a public school teacher, actively participates in the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus and the For Country Caucus,” Will Kiley, his spokesman said. “He has made and will continue to take action and make pledges that genuinely prioritize his community and country over party interests.”

Suozzi echoed Alvon and Gillen, as he said citizens are “sick and tired of politicians attacking each other.” He said it’s time to start looking at issues that both sides can come together and work on, such as the border-crisis, the environment, taxes, and more.

“I can give you a whole long list that includes a lot more issues that people are concerned about and when we look to Washington, D.C., we see what they’re doing. They’re trying to kick the speaker out, everything’s a big fight about every single thing,” Suozzi said. “It’s been the least productive congress in the history of the United States.”

Mike LiPetri, opponent of Suozzi, said the congressman “pretends to be some sort of a moderate candidate.” LiPetri said that as a former NYS Assembylman, he has stood with police, veterans and fought for common sense solutions for the next generation.

“We’ll find common ground by restoring common sense and that starts with flipping NY-03 and sending Tom Suozzi home once and for all,” LiPetri said.

Suozzi said Congress can’t solve issues in an “environment of fear and anger” and Congress needs to start focusing on issues that can stop the partisan divide. This is why he, along with Gillen and Avlon, signed the pledge.

Common Ground over Choas plan to continue to recruit candidates to sign their pledge. For more information, visit CommonGroundOverChaos.org.