Politics
Cuomo’s Plan for a $20 Minimum Wage in New York City
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is the front-runner in the Democratic mayoral primary, announced a plan to increase the city’s minimum wage if he is elected.
Good morning. It’s Thursday. Today we’ll look at the minimum-wage increase former Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he will instate if he is elected mayor of New York City. And we’ll get details on a new development plan in a busy part of Brooklyn.
Credit…Adam Gray for The New York Times
New York City is in the throes of a once-in-a-generation economic crisis, beleaguered by inflation, income inequality and a shortage of affordable housing. To help combat it, Andrew Cuomo, the former governor of New York who is running for mayor, has announced a plan to raise the city’s minimum wage to $20 an hour by 2027 if he is elected. The increase would make New York City’s minimum wage one of the highest in the country, my colleague Emma G. Fitzsimmons reported. Its current minimum wage is $16.50 an hour.
Many of the other Democrats in the mayoral primary have announced plans aimed at improving the lives of New York’s working class. Cuomo insists he’s the one who has shown he can actually do it.
The former governor announced the proposal on Wednesday at a campaign rally with unions that have endorsed him. He has emphasized on the campaign trail that he has passed a policy like this before. In 2016, after pressure from labor unions, he signed legislation that raised New York State’s minimum wage to $15 for most workers, putting New York at the forefront of a national push to raise wages.
“The first state to pass the highest minimum wage in the United States of America, right here,” he said earlier this year.
