NC governor’s race: Stein and Robinson campaign merch, Cooper defends DHHS

Welcome to the governor’s race edition of our Under the Dome politics newsletter. I’m Dawn Vaughan, The News & Observer’s Capitol bureau chief.

Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson and Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein, who are running against each other for governor, have had difference experiences when it comes to labor.

Robinson spent most of his career as a factory worker, while Stein has spent most of his career as an attorney.

Robinson has spoken often about NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), and how his career was impacted by companies moving factories out of the United States. That happened to him when he was at Steelcase furniture factory in High Point, a job that he thrived in as an upholsterer and zone leader, he wrote in his “We Are the Majority!” memoir.

Steelcase closed the plant in 2014, WFMY reported, laying off hundreds of workers. Robinson wrote about finding out the factory was shutting down and being moved to Mexico, and watching more than 300 people lose their jobs.

Robinson worked next at Davis Furniture, while also going back to college to finish his degree at UNC-Greensboro, according to his memoir.

On the gubernatorial campaign merchandise front, Robinson’s campaign sells some of his from distributor MAGA Mall, which is a retailer and wholesaler for many Republican candidates. MAGA Mall uses some factories overseas, company president Ronald Solomon told The New York Times in 2022, so the products are not all made in America.

A Robinson campaign spokesperson declined to comment about using MAGA Mall and merchandise made overseas. MAGA Mall’s website says it donates to conservative causes and candidates to “help Make America Great Again.”

Stein, who is endorsed by labor unions, sells his merchandise from Bright Blue Ink, which touts its wares as products that are union made. That company is based in Texas, and its union is affiliated with the Communication Workers of America. Stein is endorsed by the N.C. State AFL-CIO.

North Carolina has consistently held the second lowest union membership rate in the country, second only to South Carolina.

North Carolina bans collective bargaining for government sector employees. While there are a few unions that operate in the state, including UE Local 150, which has some state employees, there is no bargaining power. The North Carolina Association of Educators is not a union. The State Employees Association of North Carolina is not affiliated with any unions, either. State employee salaries are set by the General Assembly.

Cooper defends DHHS handling of Balanced Nutrition, talks about Walz

N.C. Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper talked to reporters after the Council of State this past week, the group of 10 statewide elected officials. Robinson did not attend the meeting; Stein did.

I asked Cooper for his response to Robinson and his wife Yolanda Hill’s characterization of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services’ handling of her former nonprofit, Balanced Nutrition, as politically motivated.

Cooper said it “is solely the Department of Health and Human Services doing its job in trying to make sure that government money is spent effectively and efficiently.”

Cooper also talked to reporters this week about Vice President Kamala Harris’ pick of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as a running mate.

“Governor Walz will work to protect middle class families, protect reproductive freedom. He will be an outstanding governing partner and running mate with Vice President Harris,” Cooper said.

“People who know Tim Walz like him a lot. He understands what everyday people go through. He was a public school teacher. I’m very excited about this pick, and I know that they’ll make a good team,” he said.

Stay informed about #ncpol

Also this week, I wrote about the latest lawyer letters exchanged between the campaigns of Robinson and Stein about Stein’s attack ad on Robinson’s former family childcare center.

Don’t forget to follow our Under the Dome tweets and listen to our Under the Dome podcast to stay up to date. Our new episode posts Monday morning, and I’m joined by higher education reporter Korie Dean and intern Emmy Martin to talk about the announcement of Lee Roberts as chancellor, not just interim chancellor, of UNC-Chapel Hill.

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