Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo this weekend officially joined the crowded race to unseat New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and he already has the support of a key power player in the health care industry. 1199SEIU President George Gresham told some of the union’s top officers that he wants the large labor organization to endorse Cuomo, according to three people briefed on the discussion, who were granted anonymity to speak candidly about internal deliberations. Gresham made the case that 1199SEIU already has a relationship with Cuomo, whom he called the “strongest candidate,” the three people said. The matter never made it to a vote by the union’s executive council, but it wasn’t because of opposition to Cuomo’s bid. Other union officers instead emphasized that union members should drive the endorsement process, according to the three people. The disagreement adds to an already simmering internal feud over the direction of 1199SEIU, which boasts 450,000 members all along the East Coast. The union unsuccessfully backed lawyer and civil rights activist Maya Wiley in the 2021 mayoral contest. Union spokesperson Bryn Lloyd-Bollard, in a statement provided on Gresham’s behalf, told POLITICO the union has launched a “robust” endorsement process, including a member poll and rank-and-file interview committee. “It is unfortunate that some people with a separate political agenda would choose to undermine our internal democratic process by suggesting that 1199 would make such a consequential endorsement without due diligence and member-led decision making,” Gresham said in the statement. IN OTHER NEWS: — Nurses from Montefiore’s Moses and Weiler hospital campuses are pushing back on a restructuring plan that would eliminate beds and services. Members of the New York State Nurses Association rallied outside Moses Hospital in the Bronx on Friday to warn that the institution’s proposal to eliminate 37 beds and cut some surgical and palliative care services would result in overcrowding and jeopardize patient care. “We still don’t know all the details of Montefiore’s plan, but what we learn makes the plan seem worse and worse by the week,” Una Davis, a Montefiore nurse whose step-down unit is losing hospital beds, said in a statement. — The Federation of Nurses/UFT ratified a new two-year contract Thursday night on behalf of more than 1,000 nurses at NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn, averting a strike that had been slated to start Saturday. The agreement includes a compounded salary increase of 15.8 percent and a one-time retention bonus for nurses who stay in the same unit and shift for at least 18 months. It also guarantees an employer-paid pension, preserves premium-free health care and requires the hospital to immediately start hiring 100 more nurses to address chronic understaffing. "This opens the door to improving staffing, recruitment and retention and provides the economic equity our nurses have long deserved,” Anne Goldman, head of the Federation of Nurses/ UFT, said in a statement Friday. ON THE AGENDA: — Tuesday at 12 p.m. The Senate Health Committee will meet. — Thursday at 1 p.m. The New York City Council’s hospitals committee hosts a budget hearing. — Friday, 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The NYS Health Equity Council will meet. MAKING ROUNDS: — Sandra Sneed was appointed CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals/Woodhull, effective March 24. Sneed will succeed Gregory Calliste, who is retiring. GOT TIPS? Send story ideas and feedback to Maya Kaufman at mkaufman@politico.com and Katelyn Cordero at kcordero@politico.com. Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You’ll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day’s biggest stories.
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