Senate Democratic leader headed to Cuba with Cuomo

Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, D-Yonkers, will be making the trip to Cuba on Monday with Gov. Andrew Cuomo and a delegation of lawmakers and business leaders.

Stewart-Cousins said she expects to talk to Cuomo about key priorities for her conference during the overnight trip, which Cuomo says is aimed at building diplomatic ties with the country.

Senate Democrats, who are in the minority, are pushing for, among other issues, a minimum-wage increase and stronger laws for women in the workplace in New York before the legislative session ends June 17.

"I look forward to using this as an opportunity to not only help promote the New York economy but also to advocate for the Senate Democratic Agenda including raising the minimum wage, enacting stronger ethics reforms, and passing equal pay for equal work and paid family leave," Stewart-Cousins said in a statement obtained by Gannett's Albany Bureau.

"On a local level I will use it to push for more help for Yonkers schools who are facing massive layoffs," her statement continued.

Stewart-Cousins will be at least the second Hudson Valley leader planning to make the trip. Regeneron CEO Leonard Schleifer, who co-chairs the region's economic development council, is also going, Bloomberg News reported. The company is based in Tarrytown.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, D-Bronx, is going, but Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, R-Nassau County, is not. Federal prosecutors have reportedly opened a grand jury investigation into Skelos' business dealings.