Metro

Gov’s labor love

Top labor leaders privately predict that Gov. Cuomo, who has threatened to fire 10,000 state workers, will have an easier time than expected next month winning concessions from public-employee unions — and he has Mayor Bloomberg to thank for it.

Cuomo’s high-profile confrontation last week with Bloomberg over the controversial “last in, first out” protection for underperforming teachers has significantly boosted the governor’s standing with the unions, key labor leaders say.

“There’s been a sea change in recent days in attitudes toward the governor by people in the labor movement,” a union head told The Post.

“The public-employee union leaders now think they’ll be able to work something out with the governor. They realize the state has great economic difficulties.”

Cuomo, who plans to freeze state worker salaries for at least a year and fire a massive number of employees unless $400 million in concessions are granted, derailed Bloomberg’s aggressive attempt to repeal the LIFO law by offering a more modest, but politically possible, proposal of his own.

The state law says city teachers can be laid off only on the basis of seniority.

Cuomo’s action, praised by state AFL-CIO President Denis Hughes, came days after the governor won a jaw-dropping agreement with the SEIU’s Local 1199, the powerful health-care union, to not only back his plan to slash $2 billion-plus from Medicaid spending but also support, via a high-priced media campaign, efforts to get the cuts through the Legislature.

Cuomo has also been reaching out to labor leaders to solicit their views, a big change from recent governors.

“People have become optimistic about being able to work with the governor, given his intervention on the LIFO issue and his reaching out to 1199,” said Retail and Wholesale Workers President Stuart Appelbaum, a prominent Democratic activist.

Hughes said, “The difference with Andrew, as opposed to past governors, is he’s willing to talk things through with you. He’s not an easy person to debate, but he’s willing to get your point of view, and if it’s valid and something doable, you have an opportunity to work with him.”

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Deficit-plagued Senate Democrats pledged last summer to quickly return a $15,000 contribution from Walmart after The Post disclosed that the company — often attacked by Dems as anti-union — handed over the money on July 15.

But state Board of Elections records show that the money was not returned to Walmart and that a second contribution of $25,000 was received and accepted by the Democrats on Aug. 6 — and that one hasn’t been returned, either.

Senate Democratic spokesman Austin Shafran said that a check for the full $40,000 was sent to Walmart after The Post’s initial inquiry but that Walmart failed to cash it.

“The fact that the check wasn’t cashed was just uncovered a few weeks ago, and we sent the company another check for that amount almost immediately,” Shafran said.

He said he expected the new check would be cashed before the next report to the Board of Elections, on July 15.

fredric.dicker@nypost.com