ALBANY — It was 2010 and Andrew M. Cuomo, about to be elected to his first term as governor of New York, was ready to free the state from what he said was the thrall of organized labor.

“We’ve seen the same play run for 10 years,” Mr. Cuomo said at the time. A governor initially acts tough on organized labor, he said, but ultimately succumbs — “the governor’s knees weaken; the governor falls to one knee, collapses, makes a deal.”

He vowed that things would be different.

But eight years later, Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, seems to have reverted to the old play. As he seeks a third term in November, the governor has sought — in his State of the State address, at news conferences and at union rallies — to affirm his place as one of labor’s staunchest allies.

He has fought for union-backed initiatives such as a $15 minimum wage and paid family leave. He has softened his support of standardized-test-based teacher evaluations, and taken a less confrontational stance on charter schools, both targets of the teachers unions’ fury. He has also appeased other public unions by negotiating wage increases and endorsing increased retirement benefits.