Gov. Mike Easley urged Commissioner of Labor Cherie Berry to fill vacant posts authorized by the legislature and help boost worker safety at poultry plants on one of his last days as governor. Shortly after his last Council of State meeting ended Tuesday morning, Easley approached Berry and spoke a few words. Berry's office declined to say what Easley said, or what she said in response, if anything. "That was a private conversation initiated by Gov. Easley," said Berry's spokesperson, Dolores Quesenberry, who suggested asking the governor what he said.
Easley spokesman Seth Effron asked the governor and said Easley said he told Berry, "Please fill these positions. These people (at the chicken plants) need your help."
Berry has come under fire for not doing more to boost worker safety at poultry plants and at other N.C. workplaces. She was reelected last fall to a third term as commissioner of labor.
