Runoff victory may hinge on workers' rights

Election 2008: N.C. Labor Commissioner

Worker advocates have taken an interest in the race for labor commissioner.

With a two-term Republican up for re-election this fall, some of North Carolina's bigger employee advocacy groups have endorsed Democratic candidate Mary Fant Donnan in Tuesday's primary runoff as their best hope.

But her opponent, former commissioner John C. Brooks, says he would actually be a bigger friend to workers.

The position holds little sway over such issues as North Carolina's longtime ban on government workers unionizing. But some advocates see the statewide elected post as a bully pulpit that incumbent Cherie Berry has left empty.

"We haven't really seen the labor department take proactive steps to protect workers and crack down on companies with more than just a slap on the wrist," said MaryBe McMillan, secretary of the state chapter of the AFL-CIO.

Her union endorsed Donnan, as did the N.C. Association of Educators, which represents state-employed teachers. Donnan also received a $1,000 donation from the political action committee of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in Washington, D.C., which belongs to the AFL-CIO coalition.

In her campaign, Donnan has said she would be part of the discussion on the future of the state's ban on collective bargaining by government workers and restrictions on union activities in private companies, but she has not taken a stand on them and isn't sure she will.

Instead, she says she's more interested in doing some of the same work that unions do in more labor-friendly states: mediating worker grievances, pushing industrywide workplace safety measures and improving apprenticeship programs.

So what does she think of labor groups?

"It's like asking 'What do you think of employers?'" she said. "They have been very supportive of me, and I have been supportive of making sure that they can bring their voice and perspective to the table. It's a good way to have accountability on both sides."

Brooks, meantime, makes no bones about his support for organized labor.

As labor commissioner from 1977 to 1993, Brooks says he has a track record representing workers and investigating unsafe working conditions. He says he would wholeheartedly support ending the ban on collective bargaining among government workers, as he has in the past.

"It saddens me that this is such an anti-union state," he said.

Brooks says he would also join the American Bar Association's working group on labor issues, which has been active at the federal level. He notes that neither Donnan nor Berry could join since they are not lawyers.

Still, Brooks says his top priorities in office would also be the day-to-day work.

In particular, he says he would lobby lawmakers to double the "miserably small" number of workplace inspectors checking North Carolina employers for violations of federal and state standards.

That issue came up during his last term in office, when 25 workers died in a fire at a Hamlet chicken processing plant that had not been inspected. Brooks argues that his department was hampered by other state agencies and a lack of resources.

"That was true when the Hamlet fire occurred, and it's true today," he said.

LOW TURNOUT, HIGH PRICE

Tuesday's labor commissioner runoff will cost between $3.5 million and $5 million. The cost will be shared by each of the 100 counties participating in the runoff between John C. Brooks and Mary Fant Donnan, though some may pay more if they have local races on the ballot as well.

In previous primary runoffs, turnout has been as low as 3 percent and as high as 16 percent, though officials with the State Board of Elections estimate this one will be at the lower end.

Under state law, the runner-up may request a runoff if no candidate receives more than 40 percent of the vote. Brooks, who received 24.4 percent of the vote in a four-way race, came in second to Donnan, who received 27.5 percent.

Brooks said he requested a runoff because it is an "educational opportunity."

"The people of North Carolina would have known nothing more about the issues in the Department of Labor than the man in the moon," he said. "The opportunity to save billions of dollars for the people of North Carolina could have gone by, just like it did four years ago."