New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo (D) declared his support for raising the city’s minimum wage to $20 per hour on Wednesday, seeking to build on his progress on the issue from his time as governor of New York.
Cuomo made the announcement during a rally in which he was joined by multiple labor unions that have backed him. Throughout the campaign, he has regularly touted raising the state’s minimum wage to $15 per hour as one of his top achievements as governor.
“The best way to combat affordability, the best way, is to raise wages. Put more money in people’s pockets,” Cuomo said. “Today, we announced we’re going to raise the minimum wage to $20 per hour.”
The New York Times reported on the former governor's proposal earlier Wednesday ahead of the rally.
His proposal is to raise the minimum wage to $20 by 2027, what would be a year into his term if he’s elected.
The former governor said he expects pushback from businesspeople who say raising the minimum wage will slow down the economy and pundits who say getting his proposal approved will be too difficult politically. But he said both are wrong.
“You know how we know they’re wrong? Because we did it before and we’re going to do it again,” Cuomo said, arguing that the economy improved after he signed the $15 minimum wage into law, giving New York the highest such wage in the country.
He said small businesses were protected with a tax credit, and with inflation, the $15 minimum wage he approved in 2016 would equal to about $20 today.
The announcement could make Cuomo, who has run as a moderate candidate, more appealing to progressives as he tries to lock up the Democratic nomination for mayor. He has been the clear frontrunner in polling since entering the race months ago.
Other candidates running to Cuomo’s left have also called for minimum wage increases, including state Assembly member Zohran Mamdani, who has regularly been placing second in polling and sought to pitch himself as the main progressive alternative to the former governor.
Mamdani has called for raising the minimum wage to $30 per hour by 2030, during what would be the last year of his term if he wins. City Comptroller Brad Lander has declared support for a proposal to raise it to $19.25 this year and $21.25 next year.
But state law gives the state legislature the authority to determine the minimum wage, putting some control outside the mayor’s purview. Cuomo said the people of New York City and labor unions must organize to get the higher wage approved.
He also contended that raising the minimum wage is even more important now with President Trump’s moves, pointing to the “big, beautiful bill” that passed the House last week.
“We’re going to get this $20 passed because when we stand together, we win,” he said.
With just under four weeks left before the primaries in the mayoral race, Cuomo has kept a lead over a crowded field to try to oust embattled Mayor Eric Adams, who is running for reelection as an independent.
Mamdani has made some gains in polling compared to earlier in this race, consolidating his position as the main challenger to Cuomo and reducing the gap between the two of them in recent weeks. But the former governor has still led by double digits consistently.
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