NYC Library Workers Say Cuomo’s Campaign Asked If They’ve Considered Charging for Services

Andrew Cuomo has scooped up endorsements from some of the most powerful unions in town—from the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council to the service workers' union 32BJ SEIU.

But on Tuesday night, DC 37, the city's largest municipal union that represents 150,000 municipal workers, announced that they were leaving Cuomo off their endorsement list. Instead, they are backing City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams as their top choice for mayor, followed by Queens Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani and Brooklyn State Senator Zellnor Myrie. 

DC 37 hasn't said why they left Cuomo off their endorsement slate. Maybe it's because Cuomo didn't bother to show up for the union's candidate forum in February. Or possibly, they were turned off when Cuomo's campaign asked if libraries had considered funding their operations by charging patrons for services.

That idea was floated by a Cuomo campaign representative in a private meeting with the heads of unions for workers at the New York, Brooklyn, and Queens library systems, all of which fall under the umbrella of DC 37, according to union members.