Gov race roils party, unions
ALBANY — The war between Gov. Cuomo and the hard left exploded Friday — a day before Cynthia Nixon is expected to claim the endorsement of the small but influential Working Families Party.
Two unions that are backing Cuomo but are also major funders of the party quit Friday in protest of the likely Nixon nomination.
The unions — the Communications Workers of America and Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union — are the latest labor groups to cut ties with the party that has become increasingly controlled by its activist base.
32BJ President Hector Figueroa and CWA Local 1 Vice President Dennis Trainor argued that Cuomo has delivered on a progressive agenda the party was created to help deliver. They cited passage of a $15 hourly minimum wage and creation of a statewide paid family leave program.
The two union leaders argued that endorsing Cuomo would be “the most effective way to put the interest of working families first.”
“The latest developments show that the current leadership of the WFP disagrees with that approach, and we have been unable to convince them otherwise,” they said in the joint statement.
Party state director Bill Lipton said the unions left after being threatened by Cuomo during meetings this week.
Lipton in an email to supporters said that Cuomo, “faced with a fissure on the left flank of the Democratic Party. . . is striking back — not at his Democratic rival, Cynthia Nixon, but at those who have chosen to support her.”
Lipton asked for donations now that the party — and potentially community organizations linked to the party that the unions also help fund — is set to lose a major money source.
“Rather than go before the members of our State Committee this weekend and make an argument as to why he deserves our endorsement, Gov. Cuomo has instead chosen to respond the only way he knows how: retaliating with bullying and threats,” he wrote.
Cuomo campaign spokeswoman Abbey Fashouer dismissed Lipton’s claims — and his party.
“Given the announcement today that the remaining unions will no longer be a part of the WFP, we stand in solidarity with them and will not be seeking the endorsement of the third party line at their convention next month,” she said.