A union representing nearly 29,000 electrical workers announced their endorsement of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday, the latest group to flip to Cuomo after endorsing Mayor Adams in the 2021 campaign.
Cuomo made the announcement at the Local-3 IBEW biennial luncheon in Midtown.
In his address to the group, Christopher Erikson, Business Manager of Local 3, highlighted Cuomo’s achievements as governor, including raising the minimum wage and advancing major projects like the Moynihan Train Hall and Second Avenue Subway with union labor.
Erikson praised Cuomo as understanding “the importance of good union jobs” that both create middle class jobs and opportunities for young people.
“That kind of one-two punch is invaluable, and we need a leader who believes in it down to his core,” Erikson said. “In this mayoral race, I believe, that leader is Andrew Cuomo, which is why Local-3 proudly backs his campaign.”
“You represent the best of the labor movement,” Cuomo told a crowd. “To me, you are the hard working women and men who built this city and built this state and built it better than anyone else ever could have imagined.”
Cuomo sided with Local 3 in their contract fight with Charter/Spectrum in 2018, joining union leaders on the picket lines.
The union is the latest of a number of political players to switch from backing Adams in 2021 to endorsing Cuomo in this year’s race.
This announcement comes on the heels of the local Teamsters’ endorsement of Cuomo — the first major union endorsement in the race. The Vicinity District Council of Carpenters and District Council 9 of the International Union of Painters have also endorsed him. Former Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., a longtime Adams ally, threw his weight behind the former governor last week.
The former governor, a moderate Democrat, is gunning for the same base of working-class Black outer borough residents that helped Adams win in 2021.
Other candidates for mayor have attacked Cuomo’s record — including allegations of sexual harassment, which he has denied, and the nursing homes scandal.