Join 9,800 neighbors and receive updates from Triangle Blog Blog on education, housing, local and state politics, UNC, and stuff to do with your kids.
What does this role do?
The NC Commissioner of Labor is one of ten independently elected positions that make up the NC Council of State—the ten member body that comprises the Executive Branch of our state government. While the NC Department of Labor (NCDOL) ensures the health, safety, and general well-being of North Carolina’s workforce, the Commissioner of Labor runs the NCDOL and is charged with interpreting, administering, executing, and enforcing our state’s labor laws.
What do you hope to accomplish if elected?
North Carolina should be the #1 state for business and workers. The two are not mutually exclusive. 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.
-
advocating for all people to be paid fairly under NC labor laws.
-
prioritizing that our workforce is fully staffed.
-
defending workers rights wherever they find work.
-
take a “whole worker” approach. (learn more: votebraxton.com/whole-worker-
approach )
For someone who may only be paying attention to the top of ballot races, what would you say to them about the Commissioner of Labor office?
Workers are dying on the job—enough is enough.
North Carolina is one of only four states in the nation that elect their Commissioner of Labor. The Charlotte Observer recently reported that every 10 days, a construction worker dies on the job—many deaths are preventable. One of the biggest safety issues NC’s workers (and businesses) face is that one in four of the NCDOL safety inspector positions goes unfilled. This means that worksites are not getting inspected on-time, and once an accident takes place, an inspector is not reliably available to investigate why the accident occurred. We must prevent accidents from happening, but also learn why they happened to prevent them in the future. One of my top priorities will be making sure these positions get filled.
Additionally, workers are dying on the job from a lack of heat safety protections. Currently, there are few rules or laws that protect NC workers from the effects of heat sickness. It is time for the NCDOL to use its statutory rule-making ability to work with private industry and worker groups to craft a NC heat safety regulation that effectively and efficiently provides common-sense protections that work for us. Learn more: votebraxton.com/heat-safety
Use your unique power as a North Carolinian and elect the person who can ensure your rights as a worker are being defended all day, everyday.
We read a piece from Border Belt recently that profiled a bunch of high school students in Robeson County who weren’t planning to vote because they didn’t see the point. What would you say to them?
I would tell them they aren’t alone. There are so many young people who are unimpressed with the representation they see from their government. This is changing, though. This election, we have an extremely diverse slate of candidates running statewide. Folks who are from rural and urban corners of the state, from all different ages and socioeconomic backgrounds. I would be the first hourly worker and union member to be elected as NC Commissioner of Labor. If you’re ready to see change, then you must use your power at the ballot box.
(We ask every candidate this question) If you could design a pair of Crocs for yourself, what would they look like?
We need a Crocs X Timberland collab to make the ultimate worker’s footwear collection!