[stoic dramatic music] [stoic dramatic music continues] - Let's welcome to "State Lines" Democratic candidate for Commissioner of Labor, Braxton Winston II.

Exactly how that name will appear on the ballot.

Mr. Winston, good to have you.

- Great to be here.

Thank you for having me.

- Well, you were a local leader in the Charlotte area and are, but you're running a statewide race, so a lot of voters may not be familiar with who you are.

They might know your name.

So tell us about yourself and why you're running for labor commissioner.

- Well, probably not your traditional candidate for Commissioner of Labor.

I was born in Camp Lejeune to a guy who retired from the Marine Corps and then retired from the Air Force.

And at 64 years old, is still riding around on a fire truck, pulling people out of fires.

My mother's a retired high school math teacher.

And when I graduated from Davidson College, I started a career as a union stagehand.

And that's what I've been doing in Charlotte for over 20 years, working backstage on things like rock and roll shows and Broadway shows.

I've been a camera operator for the Charlotte Hornets for 20 seasons, and I work on film and television production sets.

So, all that to be said, you know, I understand the challenges that working families face all across this state day to day.

I'm a guy who clocks in and clocks out.

And, you know, that combined with being the former mayor pro tem on the Charlotte City Council, where I served three terms, I've certainly come to understand and believe that our state has everything it takes to be number one for both businesses and workers.

And that's why I'm doing this.

'Cause I think we have the potential to do that, but it's gonna take strong leadership at the Department of Labor to make that a reality.

- And North Carolina is a right-to-work state, which, I mean, it means it doesn't empower unions, but there are unions in this state, and they seem to have influence in certain areas.

Where are unions working for the state, in the state, and where are they not in terms of the policy and laws?

- We are, I think, the second least unionized state in the nation.

But I always like to tell people, you know, there's really nothing more American than the idea of a union.

I mean, it says it in the preamble of our Constitution.

"We, the people, in order to form a more perfect union, "do present this Constitution."

And the Constitution is a collectively bargained contract that sets the framework for how we can negotiate with one another in good faith.

A framework where we can set rules and understanding on how to hold each other accountable.

And that is really at the crux of the idea of the labor movement, right?

The idea that workers and employers can have this collectively bargained contract that provides a fair situation for both the employer and the worker.

Frankly, we don't have enough of that fairness in our workforces throughout the state.

And I think it could go a long way, again, to making us the number one state for businesses and workers if we had a stronger labor movement.

- Let's talk about your platform for labor commissioner.

That's an administrative job in state government, or at least, historically, it's a quiet job.

I mean, you have your picture in the elevator, if you so wanted.

Pair your experience with what you wanna do if you're elected.

- Well, I think this job is administrative, but there are also services that it needs to provide.

I think for about 25 years, you've had Republican leadership at the Commissioner of Labor that has intentionally eroded the work that needs to be done at the Department of Labor.

Look, I was talking to a scrap yard owner in Asheville a couple months back, and they were trying to get a voluntary OSH inspection, health and safety inspection.

They weren't being responded to for three months.

And that makes sense when you realize that one in four, 25% of our safety compliance officers in this state, those positions goes unfilled.

So my number one priority is really to make sure that this department is not just fully staffed but adequately staffed to do the important jobs that needs to be done.

Whether they are those safety inspections that we rely on.

Whether it's responding to those reports of dangerous and unhealthy work conditions.

Or times that workers have been retaliated against or being taken advantage of by their employers.

It's a significant job and one that really does affect us all.

'Cause the ties that do bind us, we all work for somebody, and we all should be ensured that we're working in fair conditions.

And that is gonna be the focus of my administration.

- Looking into the current Labor Department.

It's an open seat, so the incumbent is not seeking reelection, Josh Dobson.

So, you'll inherit a team of folks.

Many have been there a lot longer than any labor commissioner currently in office and will be there long after Josh is gone.

- [Braxton] Yeah.

- So, what?

You inherit an understaffed team.

You have to persuade a budget writer to expand your budget.

Every council of state seat seems to complain about job vacancies.

So, what's realistic?

What do you expect to get done?

What's the best you can do?

- Well, the best that we can do is to ensure that we are doing our job under the law, right?

And really, you know, kind of to carry on the question that you asked before, I really have focused on building coalitions, right?

There is not one policy that can be implemented that it provides a silver bullet to any issue or problem that a government has to face.

So, it's important that we work together as a council of state to advocate for the changes that are needed from a systemwide perspective, from the entire state government.

It's gonna be important to build coalitions on the general assembly.

Look, I know from the mayor pro tem from the great state of Charlotte, that it's one thing to work things out in the headlines and it's another thing to get up and get behind those doors and have those meetings and find common ground.

It's also important to make sure that we are working with county and local governments, as well as the private sector, and service-providing organizations, like labor unions, to ensure that we are understanding what's going on out in the field and we are actually working to solve the solvable issues that are on the ground.

- I mean, one narrative in the campaign from your opponent, but this is about you, is, "I wanna have a safe working environment "across the state without bankrupting business," was the term we used in a previous interview.

To your point, when people look at you and go, "Hey, Democrat, labor guy, union guy, "what's the balance with you between representing the worker "and representing the business?"

- Well, I always tell people you don't become the mayor pro tem of the city of Charlotte without having the trust and belief by leaders in the business sector.

I've been grateful to have, you know, the support of titans like Hugh McCall since I've first come into the public service realm.

Look, again, the idea of taking care of workers and taking care of businesses are not mutually exclusive, right?

Businesses want to set up where their workforce is strong, where their workforce is durable, where their workforce is educated, and workers want their employers to thrive, you know, and make a lot of money, gain wealth, and grow.

Workers just want their fair share.

They want to be able to ensure that they're coming home with a fair day's pay after a fair day's work.

They wanna make sure that they have access to water, fresh and clean water, and they can take a break throughout the day, or able to protect themselves from the hot sun if they're working outside or from high heat if they're working inside.

And they want to be able to do that without being fired or retaliated when they stand up for those things.

And, you know, look, if having to provide water to your employees is gonna bankrupt a business, we need to really look at [laughs] the underlying business model and the fundamentals of that business.

So I think, again, those two ideas are not mutually exclusive.

When workers are taken care of, work happens more efficiently.

When workers are able to stay around in a job for longer periods of time because they're healthy and safe, that is better for the bottom line of the business.

These two things are interconnected, and they certainly should not bankrupt a business, let alone an industry.

- You know, you're bringing up some issues about the worker experience on certain jobs.

I don't know which jobs you're referencing with water, presuming outdoors, you're in the sun.

But then, you'll read magazines, and they'll label North Carolina as the best place to do business one year or maybe slightly number two in 2024.

Are there differences there?

What do you see in the labor and the employment, and the economic landscape of the state right now?

- Yeah, it's usually ranked at the top for business, but it's also ranked at the bottom when it comes in terms of workers, you know?

And that relates to pay, benefits package, and the ability to organize.

I mean, Oxfam ranked us 52 out of 52, I believe, for the conditions of women workers, behind Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.

When it comes down to it... And as you saw, we've slipped in the rankings.

We fell from number one to number two and it's because we're not investing in the infrastructure necessary to sustain our workforce.

We're not investing in the public education that is going to support the skills that our workforce is gonna need for the jobs that are coming to down tomorrow.

And we ranked 30-something, like 35th, in terms of overall quality of life.

That's why the political philosophy that I have that undergirds this campaign is something we call a whole-worker approach.

That certainly at the Department of Labor, we need to focus on our jurisdiction for what happens in the workplace.

But there are things outside the workplace that really do affect the work, health and safety, and the vitality of a workforce, right?

If workers aren't going home to healthy and affordable housing, work is not gonna be sustainable.

Work doesn't work without the access to affordable childcare.

Work doesn't work when workers live in the digital divide or don't have access to the healthcare, both mental and physical.

So, that's why we need to work across the board to ensure that we have the kind of underlying factors that have sustained our workforce over generations.

But I think, in some places, we've taken our eye off the ball.

And that falling in rankings really does show us, we need to invest in the whole worker to ensure that we have everything that's needed so business can continue to grow, and we can have the upward economic trajectory that we enjoy now long into the future.

- You know, very rarely do I see in North Carolina headlines being generated based on labor rules and proposed rules.

One was the mask mandate, the COVID rules.

I hope we never have another- - For real.

- Pandemic.

As a journalist, I will say, I am in favor of never having another one.

However- - Yeah.

I agree.

- It is bring up a partnership opportunity when hurricanes, tornadoes strike, or pandemic strike, what do you see as the Labor Department's role in being at the table if the debate over health mandates comes up again in the private sector?

- Well, I'm glad you brought that up because, you know, I was in municipal government when the pandemic onset.

And really, there were no rules.

There was no playbook for state and local of officials in terms of how to handle the pandemic.

The pandemics were supposed to be the job of the federal government.

And when the federal government dropped the ball, it was up to us in state and local government to create a playbook.

And governments are run by laws and policies.

And when those policies didn't... We looked at the book, and there were no policies that govern our response.

It made clear that we have to work together to create that playbook for when challenges and emergencies do come on down the line, we know how to flip the switch and get to work.

I think, it's gonna be important that we have connections going both up and down, right, at the Department of Labor.

How do we work with our federal partners that have a much more robust network and much more robust toolbox in some situations?

But how do we also reach down to the municipalities and the county level to understand what is going on specifically and what are the needs in specific areas so we can have, again, comprehensive policy responses when future emergencies come forward?

- So on the state ballot, "Braxton Winston II for Labor Commissioner."

He'll be an option there, folks.

Make sure you go all the way down the ballot.

- Gotta go all the way down the ballot.

- Yeah, don't get put off by the governor and presidential race.

- Absolutely.

- You got a lot of folks asking for the job.

Thank you so much, Mr. Winston, for being on "State Lines," this special edition.

- Thank you for having me.

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