Labor leaders are putting on a full court press to persuade Bronx state Sen. Jeff Klein and his five-member caucus of renegade Democrats to sever their governing alliance with the GOP.
The pressure on Klein and the Independent Democratic Caucus to unify with their party brethren comes just days after Gov. Cuomo vowed to help Democrats win outright control of the state Senate as part of a deal to secure the leftist Working Families Party endorsement.
Among the labor groups in talks with Klein is the powerful health care Local 1199-SEIU. the city’s largest union.
1199 political director Kevin Finnegan confirmed he’s in talks with Klein about having a unified Democratic conference run the Senate.
“Are we trying to unify the Democrats? Of course. Absolutely,” Finnegan said.
Another labor insider, who requested anonymity said both Mayor de Blasio and Cuomo back the effort.
“A lot of the labor leaders, the mayor, the governor, would like to see a path created for the IDC to have rapprochement with the Democrats, ” the source said.
Republicans currently run the Senate, but only in the partnership with the five Democratic IDC members and another Democrat who caucuses with them, Brooklyn Sen. Simcha Felder.
For his part, Klein’s office brushed off attempts to prod him to switch sides.
“Senator Klein is focused on governing and getting things done for New Yorkers during the final two weeks of session, not on cutting political deals. The senator is proud of his mounting union support,” said the senator’s spokeswoman, Candice Giove.
Klein is facing a Democratic primary in September from former City Councilman and state Attorney General Oliver Koppell, who is backed by the Working Families Party.
But Klein is favored to win and has key support from labor, including the Transport Worker Union, Uniformed Firefighters Association, Hotel Trades Council and Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, among others.