After thwarting such initiatives when serving as governor, Andrew Cuomo is flip flopping once more, this time with a left-leaning proposal to raise the minimum wage in New York City.
In front of a boisterous group of labor union members, Cuomo, the leading candidate in the Democratic mayoral primary, unveiled the campaign idea Wednesday, claiming it was intended to put “more money in people’s pockets.”
“The best way to combat affordability, the best way is to raise wages… and today we announce we’re going to raise the minimum wage to $20,” he stated from the Service Employees Local Union 1199 SEIU’s Midtown headquarters.
Cuomo’s most recent concession to the party’s left side comes as he attempts to slow the rise of Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, the Queens state assemblyman who has been trailing the former governor in recent polls.
He claims that his plan would bring Big Apple wages into line with inflation by raising the minimum hourly wage to $20 by 2027.
According to Cuomo’s campaign, the plan expands upon a measure he signed into law in 2016 while serving as governor, which required a multi-year phase-in plan to raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2020.
However, Cuomo vehemently opposed the idea when then-Mayor Bill de Blasio openly advocated for the city to enact a comparable increase in 2014, claiming that the “chaotic situation” would be detrimental to the state’s economy.
“We don’t want to cannibalize ourselves,” Cuomo stated. “We don’t want to have different cities with different tax rates competing amongst themselves.”
In order to take any action regarding the minimum wage, Cuomo would have to work closely with Albany and secure the support of state legislators if elected.
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“How do we get him passed? We get it passed the way we’ve gotten every progressive reform and in the past 30 years, we’ve organized the working men and women of this city,” he stated at the rally.
When challenged about the flip-flop at his event on Wednesday, the Democrat, who has been elected three times, dodged reporters by slinking out of the back of the building and seemingly blowing past a red light.
The former governor’s primary opponent on June 24th, Mamdani, has suggested a $30 minimum wage by 2030.
On Tuesday, Mayor Eric Adams, who chose not to run in the primary and will run as an independent in the general election, criticized Cuomo for caving in during his return to public life.
“He would say anything, anything to get elected, to get back in office. That’s just how he is,” Adams stated at City Hall.
