To say CSEA President Danny Donohue and Gov. Andrew Cuomo have had a rocky relationship is something of an understatement.
Donohue, who heads the second largest state workers union in New York, is a tough-talking sort, and has never been shy about expressing his opinions about the governor in public, particularly when he feels his members are getting the short end of the stick.
In 2014, while voicing opposition to Cuomo’s decision to close several hospitals, prisons and mental health institutes, Donohue called the governor a “moron” and a “monkey” in front of hundreds of union workers gathered outside the Capitol for a rally.
Not long after that incident, Donohue was a guest on Capital Tonight, and said his union, which didn’t back Cuomo during his initial run for governor in 2010, probably wouldn’t be backing him when he sought a second term in 2014, either.
Though CSEA didn’t go as far as its sister union, PEF, in backing Cuomo’s primary opponent, Zephyr Teachout, it declined to endorse him, as Donohue has foreseen – a move that helped convince the AFL-CIO to sit on the sidelines that year.
Even without union support, Cuomo went on to both win the primary and also defeat his GOP opponent, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, in the general election.
But thanks to what appears to be a rather lucrative five-year contract deal – it’s hard to tell, exactly, because scant details on the agreement have been made public – Donohue appears to have had a change of heart where Cuomo and his political aspirations are concerned, though the union president’s newfound magnanimous attitude toward the governor likely won’t extend beyond 2018.
During a CapTon interview last night, Donohue said he hopes the new contract, which includes raises, longevity bonuses, overtime increases for some workers and no significant health care givebacks, will enable CSEA to “open a new page” with Cuomo. (CSEA members have yet to ratify the contract, and will be voting over the next several weeks. A decision is expected Aug. 8).
Donohue noted CSEA had endorsed Cuomo when he ran for AG, but then decided public employees “were the enemy” when he ran for governor, so there’s a lot of room for improvement.
“We are hoping that it’s a new beginning with the governor; he has a chance there,” Donohue said. “This contract is not overly generous…We think we’ve earned it. Now the question is can we administratively work together to get the kind of relationship he should have with his own employees, which at times he seems to forget.”
As to whether Cuomo should run for president, Donohue was sort of lukewarm on the idea, saying: “Andrew has proven he can do some things well, other things he can’t…Where I think he has fallen down, is can he put together the kind of coalitions he needs? You can’t be the conservative Democratic leader, that’s somehow inconsistent. Gay marriage and gun control have their points, but he lost the base.”
Donohue did stress that he would prefer “anybody” to the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue: President Donald Trump.