The two women competing to be North Carolina’s next labor commissioner say they are very different.
And if elected, their terms in office would be equally different, both women say.
Republican incumbent Cherie Berry faces Democratic challenger Mary Fant Donnan of Winston-Salem, a program officer for the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, in the Nov. 4 general election.
Donnan defeated John Brooks, a former state labor commissioner, in a runoff election during the Democratic primary, winning 68 percent of 63,662 votes cast.
If elected, Donnan would the first resident of Forsyth County in more than 100 years to be elected to an executive-branch position in state government.
Berry, the first woman to hold the office, has served two consecutive four-year terms as the state’s commissioner of labor.
The labor commissioner is charged with enforcing workplace-safety regulations and promoting the health, safety and general well-being of North Carolina’s more than 4 million workers. The commissioner also oversees the N.C. Department of Labor and its three divisions-administration, occupational safety and health, and standards and inspections.
“There is a clear choice in what we support going forward,” Berry said. “I have that proven record of success. I’ve been successful for eight years. I was also a legislator and a member of the General Assembly for eight years.”
Berry represented Catawba County in the N.C House until she was elected labor commissioner.
Donnan, a former director of research and policy with the labor department, said she is running for office because she thinks that it is time for a new kind of leadership and time to re-think how the commissioner’s job can be done.
“I can improve on the way that it’s been done,” Donnan said.
Employment laws and workplace standards are out of date, she said.
Donnan said she would push for programs to help employers provide benefits and insurance to workers and expand the Individual Development Account Program, which provides savings accounts for first-time homebuyers, business owners, and for education or job training.
“I want to be an advocate for asset building to help people, especially in time of financial crisis, to help them have access to programs that give people the personal skills to be able to build their own assets,” Donnan said.
Berry and Donnan each criticized the other’s positions on work policies in telephone interviews this week.
“There’s a clear choice in this election,” Berry said. “There’s a distinction between the two of us with the support that I have from the Teamsters, a labor union. My opponent has stated that she supports the Employee Free Choice Act … and I do not.”
The federal Employee Free Choice Act would allow labor organizations to unionize workplaces without secret-ballot elections. It would also establish stronger penalties for employers who violate workers’ rights during negotiations.
Labor groups say that secret-ballot elections let employers intimidate workers into rejecting unions.
The bill won the approval of the U.S. House of Representatives in March 2007, but it failed to pass the Senate.
Business groups have campaigned against the bill, saying that it would give high-pressure organizers unimpeded access to workers.
The Employee Free Choice Act is legislation that would take away the right of an employee to unionize by secret ballot, Berry said.
“It is the biggest business-killer bill I’ve ever seen,” she said.
Donnan criticized Berry, saying that she is too “pro-business.”
“My opponent talks about the position as one in partnership with industry and employers and that she’s known for her philosophy as being pro-business,” Donnan said.
“I believe that the position is not about being pro-business or pro-workers,” she said. “It’s about being fair and balanced and about taking a look at what needs to be done to carry out the duties of the office and also improving the way that work gets done.”
BREAKDOWN
Cherie Berry, Republican.
• Age: 66.
• Hometown/birthplace: Newton, N.C.
• Job: N.C. commissioner of labor.
• Political/civic experience: Sworn in as the state’s first female labor commissioner in Jan. 2001. Re-elected to the position in November. 2004.
• Top priority if re-elected: “Our top priority is and always has been safety and health of North Carolina workers.”
Mary Fant Donnan, Democrat.
• Age: 46.
• Hometown/birthplace: Grayson County, Va.
• Job: Program officer for the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, working on community and economic development.
• Political/civic experience: Worked for seven years in the N.C. Department of Labor, first as a policy analyst and then as director of research and policy. Has never run for office before.
• Top priority if elected: “Do the job delegated to the department, build new and relevant policy, and be a part of a state effort to make our workplaces as safe and strong as they can be.
