Joseph Spector is reporting in the Poughkeepsie Journal the state's second largest public-employee union Thurs., Aug. 14, backed Zephyr Teachout over incumbent Andrew M. Cuomo in the Sept. 9 Democratic primary. The Public Employees Federation, with 55,000 members, supported Cuomo during his first election bid in 2010. The endorsement came the same day that another union, the New York State United Teachers, declined to endorse a candidate in the governor's race. A NYSUT spokesman said the union could not come to a consensus among the candidates. NYSUT has battled Cuomo over teacher evaluations and tougher testing standards. NYSUT, which has 600,000 members, has endorsed Chris Gibson for Congress, Cecilia Tkaczyk for state Senate and Didi Barrett and Phil Malone for Assembly. The union did not endorse a candidate in the race between incumbent state Sen. Kathleen Marchione, a Republican, and Democrat Brian Howard, a former school administrator. The Civil Service Employees Association, the state's largest public union, has indicated it will not back Cuomo this year. Read the full story in the Poughkeepsie Journal.