July 17th: Second NC Primary Election

...rather than being for someone else.

Do they really think that nominating a corporate lawyer/lobbyist who never really helped working people (because his job was helping the business he worked for and their stockholders - and we know what THAT means)?

John Brooks is a long-time Democrat who is also very progressive to boot! He helped found the Wake County Progressive Democrats with an old labor lion and Democratic activist named P.R. Latta. Do you suppose P.R. , in his ninties, would not only endorse John's campaign but work in his campaign to get him elected if John Brooks wern't the best and most pro-worker candidate?

In his four terms as Labor Commissioner, John Brooks did more for working people in North Carolina than any commissioner before him or since. There are more pro-labor precedents in the case law books under John's name than under any other commissioner - go check it out in the law library to make sure!

You have probably heard other candidates and the news media harp on John about the Hamlet fire. But did you know that the Imperial Chicken Processing Plant in Richmond County was never registered with the Secretary of State's office. (Note to newcomers to North Carolina: Elaine Marshall was NOT our Secretary of State at that time). Examination of records of businesses is how OSHA knows what companies are doing business in the state. Without being listed, Imperial was one big illegally-operated business. But if fire and building codes (and violations) been a part of OSHA standards, and if workman's comp claims had been shared with the DOL, we would have known about conditions at the Imperial plant before the fire because of the fires, accidents and injuries that took place there over the years.

John Brooks fought for those things before the 1991 fire, but the pro-business General Assembly didn't want to deal with them UNTIL it was too late. The fire and building code became part of OSHA standards right after the 1991 tragedy, but were canceled.

We know that Cherie Berry, the current Labor Commissioner (a Republican) is a disaster.It's no surprise that the Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act (the law that was passed in the wake of the Hamlet fire) is not being enforced by Berry. Bear with me as we review the recent history of enforcement of this Act:

History of the NC Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act (REDA)

The passage of REDA brought the enforcement all of these worker protection provisions under a single agency, the N.C. Department of Labor. The department's Employment Discrimination Bureau administers REDA. Thus, workers and employers deal with a single state agency that provides technical assistance, answers questions, and investigates complaints made by workers. Workers can file written complaints with the EDB if they feel they have been retaliated or discriminated against because they have engaged in activities protected under the Workers' Compensation Act, the Wage and Hour Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Mine Safety and Health Act, sickle cell or hemoglobin C carriers, participation in the National Guard, participating in the Juvenile Justice Act process, genetic testing requests or information, and domestic violence victims. The EDB then conducts impartial investigations of all complaints to determine if a REDA violation exists.

I can tell you from personal experience that DOL leadership AFTER BROOKS and PRIOR TO BERRY did nothing with anyone’s REDA complaint. Since the law was passed, the State of North Carolina has done NOTHING to create a precedent for the REDA Act to provide protection for workers! And that covers the two terms Democrat Harry Payne was Labor Commissioner. Which is probably why they Indy opposes John Brooks - because John Brooks will enforce the law, making folks wonder why their "inside the Beltline, country-club" buddy did nothing to enforce REDA. Meaning those 25 Imperial workers died in vain!

It is imperative that Berry be beaten in November. We need a Labor Commissioner who will fairly enforce labor laws and investigate complaints of unfair treatment. We haven't had that sort of Labor Commissioner since 1992!

Because of his experience and lifetime commitment to NC workers, JOHN BROOKS is the Democratic candidate who can beat Berry in November, and get to work on day one after being sworn in as YOUR NORTH CAROLINA COMMISSIONER OF LABOR.

Please vote for John Brooks for Labor Commissioner. I voted for him back during his earlier terms, and voted for him in the 1992 primary, and again in 2008. He got my vote in May, and he'd have already had Wake's first early vote had I not been out of state at a family funeral. He's getting my vote in the 2nd primary. As a long-time Democrat who has always been a friend to working peopple, he deserves your vote much more than any corporate lobbyist does. Go check out his site at www.brookslaborcomm.com

...doe he have any real experience working on behalf of working people vs corporate management?

I visited my aunt and uncle who lived near a farm when I was 10 years old. I helped my cousin Bonnie take care of her horse. Does that make me an expert on farming?

I helped my uncle Tony clean his pool when I was a kid. Does that make me an expert on pool care and maintenance?

In HS I worked selling newspaper subscriptions for the N&O. Does that mean I am an expert on the journalism and the newspaper business?

From the US DOL website:

To foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.

Please tell me how corporate lawyer Marlowe Foster has any real experience doing all the things that the Department of Labor is supposed to do for working people other than working on a farm as a kid?

What experience does he have as a working adult doing all the things for working people that the DOL is supposed to do?

Sorry - but when you compare adult working experience, John Brooks has way more experience fulfilling the purpose of the DOL than Marlowe Foster. And the Indy would know it if they stopped forming opinions based on coffee-house gossip of the inside the Beltline crowd.