“All New Yorkers should be able to enjoy the fruits of their labor,” wrote New York gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon last week. “But right now prosperity and wealth in New York State belongs only to a tiny few.”

With that Nixon introduced her economic platform, which includes several ambitious labor reforms. Among them are a $15 minimum wage across the entire state, a safe-staffing law for nurses, increased safety and training programs in the building trades, and the right to strike for all public sector workers.

This last one, which would repeal the state’s prohibition on public sector strikes, caused a great deal of controversy. Nixon’s opponent Governor Andrew Cuomo, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio, and assorted union leaders all publicly opposed the plan. This public circling of the wagons exposed the anti-worker bias of the state’s Democratic Party establishment and revealed the servility of union officials under its spell.