Flexing Their Support for Cuomo, Key Unions Leave Working Families Party

Source: New York Times

Faced with a fissure on the left flank of the Democratic Party, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is striking back — not at his Democratic rival, Cynthia Nixon, but at those who have chosen to support her.

With the Working Families Party — a small but influential coalition of labor unions and progressive activists — considering an endorsement of Ms. Nixon, two powerful unions announced on Friday that they were withdrawing from the party, and other labor leaders have threatened to create a new labor party.

The stunning development comes as Mr. Cuomo has also privately urged some of those same unions to withdraw funding from liberal community groups backing Ms. Nixon, according to five people familiar with those conversations.

Some of those groups were summoned to a meeting with labor leaders on Friday at the Manhattan headquarters of the United Federation of Teachers, an influential player in state politics, having been issued a stern warning.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/13/nyregion/cuomo-nixon-wfp-labor-governor-election.html