Andrew Cuomo Gets Labor Nods In New York City Mayor's Race

NEW YORK — Two powerful labor unions endorsed scandal-scarred Andrew Cuomo’s New York City mayoral bid Monday, providing organizational muscle and solidifying his front-runner status in the Democratic primary.

The labor groups 32BJ SEIU and Hotel and Gaming Trades Council — which represent building service workers and hotel and casino employees, respectively — are coveted by most candidates running in highly unionized New York City. Their backing for Cuomo in a rare joint endorsement follows Mayor Eric Adams’ announcement this month that he would forgo the Democratic primary to run as an independent. Both unions endorsed Adams in 2021.

That same year, hotel union President Rich Maroko said the sexual harassment allegations leveled against then-Gov. Cuomo were "disturbing" and called on him to resign, which he did.

The labor groups are now looking past the litany of scandals that drove Cuomo from office and their leaders’ prior calls for Cuomo's resignation. On Monday, Maroko called Cuomo a “formidable leader” with a “proven history of effective government management.”

“His record as governor shows what’s possible when leadership puts working families first — and those are exactly the kinds of policy victories New Yorkers will need in the years ahead,” Maroko said.

Manny Pastreich, the 32BJ SEIU president, alluded to the perception stoked by Cuomo’s campaign that the former governor can stand up to President Donald Trump. (Cuomo initially said he can work with his fellow Queens native, a comment that drew scorn from rival campaigns, before shifting to more aggressive rhetoric.)

“This moment calls for someone who doesn’t stay home in times of crisis and who does not back down from a fight when things get tough,” Pastreich said. “This moment requires Andrew Cuomo for mayor.”

Union leaders waited for Adams' long-expected decision before finalizing the endorsement, according to a person familiar with their deliberations who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the private talks. Some labor officials involved in the selection process were intrigued by the candidacy of socialist Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, who has leveraged social media to thrive in the city’s public campaign financing system. But Mamdani, an Israel critic, was ultimately considered too far left for the pragmatic unions that rely on the city cutting deals with real estate developers and hotel owners to provide their members work, the person said.

The other Democratic candidates — state Sens. Zellnor Myrie and Jessica Ramos, city Comptroller Brad Lander, former Comptroller Scott Stringer and former Assemblymember Michael Blake — have not polled competitively in the race. Adrienne Adams, speaker of the City Council, entered the race late and has not polled competitively yet.

The 67-year-old Cuomo stepped down as the state’s chief executive following sexual harassment and misconduct allegations detailed in a report released by Attorney General Letitia James. He’s also been dogged by his controversial Covid policies after the pandemic initially made him a national political celebrity. Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing.

He and his allies assiduously courted labor leaders — whose members can provide organizational heft and voter turnout efforts in political campaigns — in the months before he entered the race. POLITICO previously reported the former governor met late last year with Maroko in New Jersey and separately with leaders from 32BJ SEIU. Cuomo launched his campaign at the carpenters union headquarters, a move meant to underscore his labor support. Campaign adviser Kevin Elkins is a former political director for the group.

Since joining the race last month, Cuomo has quickly amassed a campaign war chest.

The two unions combined have more than 120,000 people in their ranks, and their support comes after the nods Cuomo has received from smaller labor organizations around the city.

Other major labor unions have yet to weigh in. The United Federations of Teachers, whose president, Michael Mulgrew, is close to Cuomo, is not expected to make its endorsement until closer to the primary. Mulgrew is facing his own reelection battle next month.

Cuomo may have a difficult time securing the backing of District Council 37, which represents municipal workers who remain angry over the former governor engineering a less generous pension tier. The union will endorse its candidate slate on April 22.

The influential labor union 1199 SEIU, which represents health care workers, has been in turmoil for months. A nine-month POLITICO investigation found the union’s president, George Gresham, benefited from the labor organization’s money, with some of it going to family members and allies. Gresham is facing his first competitive election in decades.

Cuomo has long received political backing from the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council and was allies with its former president, Peter Ward. The organization is relatively small, but has become politically influential and fields a robust voter turnout operation. The union benefited from Cuomo’s push to allow commercial table-top casino gambling in the state, a move that significantly expanded the union’s membership. Cuomo has also sided with the union on short-term rental regulations. The labor group’s citywide hotel contract will soon be up for renegotiation.

Measures to increase the state’s minimum wage have also been pushed by 32BJ, and the labor group cheered his support for a law providing health care benefits to airport workers.

But Cuomo’s support from labor has been mixed during his decades in elected office. As governor, he sought more modest contracts for public worker unions and threatened layoffs if cost-saving deals couldn’t be reached. The posture earned the ire of the state’s largest unions that represent government workers, the Civil Service Employees Association and the Public Employees Federation. Job losses were ultimately avoided and Cuomo spent the subsequent years mending his relationship with some of the unions.