Charlotte Observer Finds Donors Get “Bigger than Average” Breaks

Republican Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry should return campaign contributions from companies her department regulates, said NCDP Chairman Jerry Meek.

A Charlotte Observer story published this week found contributors to Berry’s campaign got “bigger than average breaks” on fines for workplace safety violations.

• McGee Bros. committed more than 40 workplace safety violations since Berry took office in 2001. Inspectors proposed fines of $32,000, but the penalties were cut to $4,150. More than 20 employees raised $9,300 for Berry last year at a company-sponsored fundraiser.
• Pike Electric faced a significant worker safety case when employees and the company’s political action committee gave about $60,000 to her 2000 campaign. The case was settled in 2002 with the proposed fines, $56,700, reduced to $3,200.
• House of Raeford executives and managers have donated $15,000 to Berry’s campaigns. The company was cited for more than 60 serious violations, including those following chemical accidents that killed one worker and hospitalized 17. Inspectors proposed $117,000 in fines, but the final bill was $3,200.

"Our workers' safety should not be compromised by Cherie Berry's need for campaign cash,” Meek said. “ Time and time again, Cherie Berry has proven that she's more interested in looking out for her political supporters than in enforcing workplace safety regulations."

“Returning these contributions would allow her to assume some responsibility for the agency she claims to oversee,” Meek said. “Every dollar Berry takes from these companies is one less dollar they can count on not paying as long as Berry is in office.”

“North Carolina needs a Labor Commissioner who is responsible and responsive to workers as well as companies and that person is Mary Fant Donnan,” Meek said.