Andrew Cuomo surfaces to endorse $20 minimum wage
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- There are many critical issues facing the biggest city in the county, but for Former Governor Andrew Cuomo, the big issue is money.
Cuomo is calling for a minimum $20 wage by 2027.
He was endorsed by several labor unions.
One of the democratic candidates, Zohran Mamdani, wants an even higher minimum wage at $30 by 2030.
New York City's latest Andrew Cuomo sighting was in a union hall in Midtown, where he was endorsed by department store clerks, food service workers and bus drivers, who cheered his proposal for a $20 minimum hourly wage.
"$20-that is the fair wage! And that's what we want and that's what we're going to get passed," Cuomo said.
The former governor is the clear frontrunner, but he's rarely seen in public.
He left through a side door and drove away without taking questions.
Affordability is a major issue in the mayoral campaign.
From housing to wages for working people.
The minimum wage in New York City is $16.50, more than double the national average. But so is the cost of living.
Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani is proposing a $30 minimum wage, phased in over four years.
Mamdani is polling second in the race. And met Eyewitness News on a street corner in Chelsea not long after Cuomo's speech in Midtown.
"You think $30 an hour is maybe too much for somebody who's scooping up French fries?" N.J. Burkett asked.
"No, because when you look at the statistics of what is a living wage in New York City today, it already is close to $30 an hour," Mamdani said.
To support small businesses, Mamdani wants to cut fines and fees.
Cuomo's answer is tax credits, although he once opposed a higher minimum wage for New York City.
"Everything that Andrew Cuomo talks about today is exactly the opposite of what he did in prior years," mayoral candidate Scott Stringer said.
And a statement from the Brad Lander Campaign saying in part, "it's still a mystery what Andrew Cuomo actually believes and what he'll do as mayor."
It is worth noting that the minimum wage is set by the governor and the state legislature.
But the candidates know it's an issue that resonates with Democratic voters.
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