Cuomo Says He Won't Intervene In LIRR Strike

You know it's an election year and Governor Cuomo needs union support when you hear him make statements like this:

Gov. Cuomo isn't planning to intervene to stop a strike on the Long Island Rail Road. That's a job for Congress, he said.

Cuomo said the labor strife at the LIRR is different from other state union disputes because it is covered by federal transportation law.

“The LIRR is a little different, because the way the law is written it is actually Congress that can end a strike and impose a settlement, one way or the other,” Cuomo told reporters in Manhattan. “So right now, it seems that Congress is pivotal to what happens and from what I read in the newspapers it is going to depend on what Congress intends to do.”

Cuomo’s comments came after a group of state senators from Long Island called on the governor to intervene in the negotiations and prevent a strike.

Any other time and Cuomo would be talking tough against the union and the workers.

But things are a little dicey for Sheriff Andy these days.

There's a likely challenger in the Democratic Primary looking to take him on from the left, bad feelings remain for some union rank-and-file after union leaders forced a Working Families Party endorsement of the anti-union Cuomo, and he faces a capable GOP opponent in Rob Astorino who, while he can't seem to raise much money or garner much poll support, still gives Cuomo a challenge this time around (unlike in 2010 when he had Crazy Carl Paladino up against him.)

Cuomo doesn't want to upset any apple carts by taking a public stance in this labor negotiation.

Still, this is a story to keep an eye on as we get closer to the strike deadline.

Cuomo definitely does not want an LIRR strike a few months before Election Day and I am sure there are some things going on behind the scenes so that Sheriff Andy gets the outcome he wants in this battle - no strike.