The Retail Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) is poised to announce its endorsement of Bronx activist Desiree Pilgrim-Hunter, who is mounting a primary challenge to embattled Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr.

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I recently reported in my DN column that this move was imminent.

RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum called Pilgrim-Hunter a “strong advocate and a smart advocate” with a “moral compass.”

He insisted the union’s decision to make public its support of her today was not motivated by the AG’s filing of his second lawsuit against Espada.

“Desiree got involved in this race before any of this legal action came down,” Appelbaum said. “She was willing to do it even when she thought the odds were formidable. She’s didn’t wait until Espada looked more vulnerable.”

“That’s the nature of who she is,” he continued. “She has gotten involved in fights for things when she thought it was right. She got involved here because she thought the district wasn’t getting the kind of representation it deserved.”

Appelbaum also praised Pilgrim-Hunter for her role in the Kingsbridge Armory fight, in which she, RWDSU and a host of others successfully blocked a development supported by the Bloomberg administration due to a disagreement over so-called “living” wages.

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