The Political Beat Candidate Guide: North Carolina Commissioner of Labor

CHARLOTTE — General elections in North Carolina are set for Nov. 5, and many statewide offices have candidates in the running from the Democratic and Republican parties.

Who will be the next face in North Carolina’s elevators? Republican Luke Farley is facing Democratic former Charlotte City Councilman Braxton Winston.

Below are the unedited responses from the candidates.

Luke Farley

What is your occupation? Workplace Safety Attorney, fighting to keep workers safe, healthy, and employed.

Why are you running? I’m running for this office to protect workers and their jobs at the same time. I want every worker to go home safe at the end of the workday – and the next day, I want them to go back to a fantastic, safe, good-paying job that allows them to support themselves and their family.

What is the most important issue and how do you plan to address it? The top issue currently at the N.C. Department of Labor is the unfilled safety and health inspector positions, with vacancies around 25%. As Labor Commissioner, I’ll work with the General Assembly to secure the resources we need to fill these positions. This is the most important thing we can do to protect workers. Not having all inspector positions filled makes it difficult to fully protect workers. But citations are only part of the way to keep workers safe – we need an approach to worker safety that also includes education and recognition. To create a culture of workplace safety, we need to educate job creators about the rules and recognize them when they do a great job of keeping employees safe. That’s how you ultimately make North Carolina the safest place to work.

What will you advocate for to benefit workers across North Carolina? If you really care about workers, you care about their jobs too. The very best way to empower workers is to create a strong job market. When workers are in demand, they have leverage to negotiate better pay and benefits. We can strengthen the job market through common sense regulation, which encourages businesses to come to our state and bring jobs with them, creating more demand for labor and empowering workers.Should unions have more power in North Carolina?Under current law, workers have the right to form and join a union if they want, but they aren’t obligated to join a union in order to keep their job. This approach strikes the right balance between workers’ rights, individual freedom, and the importance of fostering a competitive job market.As Labor Commissioner, I’ll always consult with key stakeholders before making any major decision. This includes worker groups. I’m proud to have the endorsement of two of our state’s leading labor groups, the Professional Fire Fighters and Paramedics of North Carolina and the North Carolina Police Benevolent Association.

Should unions have more power in North Carolina? Under current law, workers have the right to form and join a union if they want, but they aren’t obligated to join a union in order to keep their job. This approach strikes the right balance between workers’ rights, individual freedom, and the importance of fostering a competitive job market. As Labor Commissioner, I’ll always consult with key stakeholders before making any major decision. This includes worker groups. I’m proud to have the endorsement of two of our state’s leading labor groups, the Professional Fire Fighters and Paramedics of North Carolina and the North Carolina Police Benevolent Association.

Will you put your photo on elevator inspection certificates? Every North Carolinian that sets foot on an elevator deserves to feel safe. As Labor Commissioner, I’ll restore accountability by returning the commissioner’s picture to elevator inspection certificates. I wouldn’t put my name, signature, or picture on a certificate unless I was willing to stand behind the work of our department’s inspectors.

What sets you apart from your opponents? Unlike my opponent, I’m not an activist, and I’m not bringing an ideological agenda to the office. Labor Commissioner is a technical, regulatory job and qualifications matter. I’m a Workplace Safety Attorney with 14 years of experience working with the laws and regulations enforced by the department. It’s the best experience one could have for the job.I’m honored to have the support of leaders who truly understand the role of Labor Commissioner. I’m especially proud to be endorsed by former Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry, our state’s longest-serving commissioner and fondly known as the ‘Elevator Queen,’ as well as N.C. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler and current Labor Commissioner Josh Dobson.

Braxton Winston

What is your occupation? Stagehand.

Why are you running? I am running to be North Carolina’s next Commissioner of Labor to make North Carolina the number one state for business and workers.

What is the most important issue and how do you plan to address it? All work, from factories to classrooms, should be done in a safe working environment. We should strive to eliminate all preventable fatalities and injuries in North Carolina workplaces. As Commissioner of Labor I will: work with employers and employees to promote and grow cultures of safety, collaborate with the North Carolina General Assembly to appropriately fund and strengthen the Occupational Safety & Health Division (OSH) and other compliance departments, team up with employers and employees to amplify preventative practices across industries, especially with our workers who experience extreme heat on the job -- like

What will you advocate for to benefit workers across North Carolina? As the next Commissioner of Labor, I will support North Carolina’s working families and businesses by: ensuring that all workers go to work in a safe environment, defending workers rights wherever they find work, advocating for all people to be paid fairly under NC labor laws, taking a “whole worker” approach, and prioritizing that our workforce is fully staffed.

Should unions have more power in North Carolina? There is nothing more American than the function of a union. The power of organized people around a collectively bargained contract is spelled out in the preamble of our Constitution: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union … do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” America’s collective contract provides pathways towards justice when we have conflicts. It defines processes that allow us to sit across from each other to negotiate fairly while protecting the rights of all parties. This American concept of rights defined by a collectively bargained contract is what undergirds the American Labor movement. All workers deserve a union and the power of a collectively bargained contract.

Will you put your photo on elevator inspection certificates? This is, of course, a fun question as elevator certificates are one of North Carolina’s most recognizable artifacts of government. I do think it represents a piece of good government. More people should know the name and face of their Council of State. However, what has been missing in this story is that when Commissioner Dobson changed the NCDOL rule mandating that elevators only have to be inspected for safety occasionally instead of yearly. This was in response to the state having a backlog of over 5000 elevators statewide missing inspections. I will strive to ensure, on a yearly basis, that every North Carolinian rides a safe elevator. Beyond putting pictures back in the elevators I, along with my team, have been exploring what more we may be able to do with technology like QR codes so people can communicate and get information directly from the NCDOL. So, I agree that the photo is important. But I think we can even improve upon it.

What sets you apart from your opponents? I started a career as a union stagehand while attending Davidson College. For over 20 years I have worked on concerts, plays, in TV & film, and I’ve been a camera operator for the Charlotte Hornets. I’m a wage-earning worker who understands the challenges that working families face everyday. I was elected three times by voters and was selected by the Charlotte City Council in a bipartisan fashion to be Mayor Pro Tem. I went to Raleigh in a Republican supermajority to represent the people of Charlotte effectively and that is what I did. I am proud to have gotten legislation passed into law that allows alternative civilian response models to emergency calls that helps law enforcement achieve its priorities while saving the taxpayer money. My opponent has virtually no public policy experience. He has endorsed Mark Robinson and contributed to his campaign. He is an attorney who defends construction companies that have been cited for treating their employees unfairly by the NCDOL. The choice in this race couldn’t be more clear as to who should be the lead advocate for NC workers: A worker with a track record of public policy experience or your boss’s attorney?

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