Just a couple of months into his term in the N.C. House representing District 32, Bryan Cohn has introduced a bill and co-sponsored another. In between crafting bills and acclimating himself to the workings of state government, Cohn has been crisscrossing the district to talk with constituents.
House Bill 269 is called the Workforce Freedom and Protection Act, which Cohn introduced just a couple of weeks ago. He said so far, it’s gotten some bipartisan compliments – from none other than the newly elected Speaker of the House Destin Hall.
The bill, briefly described as a workers’ rights bill, focuses on removing some restrictions on employees in jobs with salaries under $75,000. Those restrictions could include non-compete clauses, for example, that could affect an employee’s ability to move within their industry.
“They should have the freedom to do so,” Cohn said on Wednesday’s segment of TownTalk.
He said non-competes might be expected in a high-income, high-impact field for doctors or lawyers or company executives.
But the practice has begun to creep into everyday jobs, he said, and that could limit an employee’s freedom to find a better paying job within the same industry.
If the bill is signed into law, Cohn said it would make existing non-competes null and void for workers who make less than $75,000.
“It would immediately give that worker the ability, if they choose, to seek employment that best suits them,” he said.
Another Bill that Cohn has co-sponsored calls for raising the minimum wage to $18 an hour.
North Carolina follows the federal government’s minimum wage, which has been $7.25 since July 2009.
Cohn advocates for having a stairstep increase over a period of time “to reach an agreeable and reasonable” level.
“You can’t shock the system,” he said. “I strongly believe in a tapered minimum wage.” Workers who earn minimum wage often have multiple jobs just to make ends meet. North Carolina’s minimum wage is “not even close to being a livable wage.”
The idea is to put more money in the pockets of workers, of course, but also to invigorate the economy. Right now, many workers in lower pay bands, Cohn said, don’t have extra money left to put into the economy after they’ve paid for rent and groceries.
They’re spending less money because of inflationary pressure, he asserted, which doesn’t do local economies and local businesses any good.
During his visits throughout the district, Cohn said he’s been particularly pleased to learn more about a key community partner – Vance-Granville Community College.
The trades program, for example, Cohn said, is “phenomenal.” He said until he visited the campus recently, he wasn’t aware of just how successful the college’s trades programs have been.
With District 32 positioned so close to the burgeoning Triangle area, Cohn said the growth will continue.
“I’m excited for the growth that this region is going to see over the coming years and decades,” he said.
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