Cuomo loses support of top two New York Democratic lawmakers
The two top Democrats in New York’s legislature withdrew their support for Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday amid mounting allegations of sexual harassment and undercounting COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes.
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins became the first senior Democrat in the state to say the three-term governor should resign.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie stopped short of demanding that Cuomo quit, but said in a statement that “it is time for the Governor to seriously consider whether he can effectively meet the needs of the people of New York.”
On Saturday, another woman who worked for Cuomo publicly accused him of inappropriate behavior, on the heels of other allegations in recent weeks.
“Every day there is another account that is drawing away from the business of government,” Stewart-Cousins said in a statement. “New York is still in the midst of this pandemic and is still facing the societal, health and economic impacts of it. We need to govern without daily distraction. For the good of the state Governor Cuomo must resign.”
Her push for his resignation came shortly after a Sunday news conference where Cuomo said it would be “anti-democratic” for him to step down.
“They don’t override the people’s will, they don’t get to override elections,” Cuomo said during a conference call with reporters when asked about members of his own party calling for him to step down. “I was elected by the people of New York state. I wasn’t elected by politicians.”
In a brief conversation Sunday prior to the press conference, Cuomo told Stewart-Cousins that
he wouldn’t quit and they would have to impeach him if they wanted him out of office, according to a person who was briefed by someone who was on the call.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the call was intended to be private.
Cuomo said the next six months will determine how successfully New York emerges from the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’m not going to be distracted because there is too much to do for the people,” he said, noting that the state must pass a budget within three weeks and administer 15 million more COVID-19 vaccines.
Asked about Ana Liss, who told The Wall Street Journal in a story published Saturday that when she worked as a policy aide to the governor between 2013 and 2015, Cuomo called her “sweetheart,” kissed her hand and asked personal questions. Cuomo said such talk was “my way of doing friendly banter.”
He acknowledged that societal norms have evolved and noted: “I
never meant to make anyone feel any uncomfortable.”
Liss told the Journal she initially thought of Cuomo’s behavior as harmless and never made a formal complaint about it, but it increasingly bothered her and she felt it was patronizing.
Karen Hinton, a former press aide to Cuomo when he served as the federal housing secretary under President Bill Clinton, detailed an uncomfortable hotel room interaction she had with Cuomo in a story published Saturday in The Washington Post.
Hinton said that as she got up to leave, he gave her a hug that was “very long, too long, too tight, too intimate.”
Asked Sunday about Hinton’s account, Cuomo said it was “not true.”
Cuomo’s workplace conduct has been under intense scrutiny in recent days as several women have publicly told of feeling sexually harassed, or at least made to feel demeaned and uncomfortable by him.
The state’s attorney general is investigating.
Companies that treat their workers well are increasingly being viewed as good investments.
Job perks that are good for workers — competitive wages and benefits, a healthy work-life balance, ample family and sick leave, and a workplace culture committed to diversity and equal pay — also tend to boost a company’s bottom line. Given that, here are companies that are great places to work and great investments.
Employees at the leading home-improvement chain were deemed essential workers during the pandemic, which meant the retailer’s 413,000 store associates had to report to work. But executives took steps to protect workers during the pandemic, says Derek Deutsch with ClearBridge Investments.
The investment thesis for Home Depot shares remains sound. Americans are spending less on meals out, travel and entertainment — but more on home improvements. Analysts expect Home Depot to increase revenues by nearly 18% and earnings per share by 15% for the fiscal year ended in February 2021, according to earnings tracker Refinitiv.
Home Depot:
Mastercard: Credit card payment processor Mastercard is on the right side of the global move away from paper money to digital payments. It is also on the side of its nearly 19,000 employees. Among companies in the S&P Global 1200 stock index, Mastercard ranks in the top 20 in terms of human capital management, according to Sustainalytics, an ESG ratings firm.
Mastercard is poised to profit from growth in e-commerce and digital payments, which has accelerated during the pandemic. Mastercard saw contactless payments rise to 41% of in-person transactions during the third quarter, up from 30% in the same period in 2019.
Salesforce: That Salesforce has a “chief equality officer” and a “chief people officer” speaks volumes about its commitment to its 49,000 employees. Salesforce ranks fourth on the 2020 “World’s Best Workplaces” list, published by corporate consultant Great Place to Work.
For investors, Salesforce is a growth juggernaut. For eight straight years, tech consulting firm Gartner has ranked Salesforce first in the large and fast-growing customer relationship management market, in terms of market share measured by revenues. Last August, keepers of the Dow Jones industrial average added Salesforce to the blue-chip stock index.
Starbucks: The giant coffee chain announced a round of pay hikes taking effect late last year. Since the pandemic, Starbucks has rolled out a program that gives all U.S. employees access to 20 free sessions a year with a mental health therapist. It has established a $10 million relief fund that offers one-time grants to employees facing financial hardships.
For investors, Starbucks has not been immune to COVID-19. For the fiscal year that ended in September, Starbucks reported a 14% drop in comparable-store sales globally. But fiscal 2021 is shaping up to be a better year. Analysts expect the company’s earnings to more than double, to $2.81 per share, in fiscal 2021 compared with the previous year. Sales are expected to increase 21% to $28.5 billion over the same period.
Target: Target is another essential business that stayed open even as COVID-19 shut down broad swaths of the economy. Target thanked its 350,000 front-line workers by twice doling out bonuses of $200. It also followed through on a move outlined in 2017 to boost the pay of new hires to $15 an hour.
Target’s digital sales skyrocketed 155% in its third quarter, and earnings more than doubled compared with the same period a year ago. When results are posted for the fiscal year ending Jan. 31, analysts expect a 42% jump in earnings per share; sales should tack on 18%, according to Refinitiv.