A coalition of regional and statewide labor unions on Tuesday publicly endorsed the effort by legislative staffers in the New York Senate and Assembly to organize, according to a letter signed by the New York State AFL-CIO. 

The unionization push by legislative staffers has the backing also of the large public workers unions in the state, including the Civil Service Employees Association, the Public Employees Federation and 1199SEIU. 

"As representatives of New York’s labor movement, we believe that all workers have the right to meet their employers at the bargaining table and negotiate for a fair contract that benefits the entire workplace," the unions wrote in the letter to the top Democrats in the Legislature, Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins.

The letter comes a week after Assembly staffers publicly signaled their plans to unionize. Staffers in the state Senate made a similar announcement weeks earlier. 

Labor unions enjoy strong support from Democrats within the state Legislature, and staffers have in recent years considered whether to organize amid efforts on campaigns and in Washington, D.C. to collectively bargain.