William Boddie
Candidate for Commissioner of Labor, Democrat
Website: boddieforga.com
Occupation(s): Member of the Georgia House of Representatives
The William Boddie campaign did not submit responses to our questionnaire. Any responses below are taken verbatim from the campaign website.
Image source: Trarell Torrence/The Atlanta Voice
Our health is affected by a variety of factors that are directly influenced by policies made by and supported by the Commissioner of Labor:
Priorities
What priorities or key issues will you address if elected to this office?
The William Boddie campaign did not submit responses to our questionnaire. The response is taken verbatim from the campaign website:
The Middle Class and Organized Labor have helped build this state and this country. As your next Georgia Labor Commissioner, I will continue to amplify the voices of working families, fight for livable wages, and I will reopen the doors of the Georgia Department of Labor. I am committed to:
• Reopen our unemployment offices that Republicans shut down after Georgia was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, so people can get the help they need from the Department of Labor
• Provide vocational training and apprenticeship opportunities for our young people, so they can “earn as they learn” and be ready for the jobs of the future
• Stand with our Labor Unions so workers can get livable wage-paying jobs and safe working conditions that they deserve
• Establish a streamlined portal to ensure that all small businesses in Georgia can fill jobs and efficiently connect with Jobseekers and Veterans
Experience
What key experiences would you bring to this role?
The William Boddie campaign did not submit responses to our questionnaire. The response is taken verbatim from the campaign website:
Current State Representative of GA House District 62, William Boddie is a 2022 Democratic Candidate for Georgia Labor Commissioner. Rep. Boddie was first elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in November 2016. After just one term in office, his Georgia House Democratic Caucus (GHDC) colleagues elected Rep. Boddie to serve as the Minority Whip in November 2018, the second-ranking Democrat in the Georgia House of Representatives. Before being elected to the GHDC leadership, Rep. Boddie was appointed to serve as the Communications Chair of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus (GLBC) in July 2017.
Rep. Boddie currently serves on Budget & Fiscal Affairs Oversight, Judiciary Non-Civil, Small Business Development, and Special Committee on Access to the Civil Justice System committees. Rep. Boddie is a member of the Georgia House Democratic Caucus, the Georgia Working Families Caucus, and the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus.
Programs to Help the Unemployed
Do you believe the Department of Labor has a role to help unemployed individuals navigate the job market? If so, what programs do you support?
The William Boddie campaign did not submit responses to our questionnaire. The response is taken verbatim from the campaign website:
Georgia Workers deserve quality customer service from their Georgia Department of Labor. As Labor Commissioner, Representative Boddie will immediately process all unemployment insurance claims for eligibility and ensure a consistent pay schedule for unemployment benefits.
As Labor Commissioner, Representative Boddie will reopen all Career Centers to the general public, create jobs through a call center dedicated to efficiently handling phone calls across the state while updating the current Georgia Department of Labor website to be user-friendly for Georgia Workers. Representative Boddie will create a division within the Georgia Department of Labor to service U.S. Veterans, Disabled Workers, and our senior citizen workers’ unique needs. All Georgia Workers deserve attention and be treated with dignity to ensure their questions and inquiries quickly.
As Georgia Labor Commissioner, Representative Boddie will be a driving force to help shape 21st century workforce that meets the needs of current needs of all industries and job sectors in Georgia. Representative Boddie believes that merging business training programs, union apprenticeship programs, technical colleges, labor/community organizations, and vocational schools will ensure that Georgia Workers and Students have the opportunity to gain the skills necessary for jobs of the future.
Representative Boddie will create a departmental program that encourages Georgia Employers to recruit and hire Georgia Workers trained to meet these employers’ needs. This recruitment program will collaborate with the Georgia Department of Labor, Georgia Employers, and Georgia Employees giving all parties having a voice at the workforce development table. Increased Education & Workforce Development opportunities are necessary for the continued economic growth of Georgia.
Neither campaign responded to our questionnaire, and we could not find responses to all of our questions on the candidates' websites. These are the additional questions we believe any candidate seeking this role should have responses to:
During the pandemic, many Georgians lost jobs and filed for unemployment benefits. What policies, if any, do you support to promote employee retention?
Do you believe the current services offered by the Department of Labor, like training programs, are easily accessible to all Georgians? Do you believe this access is equitable?
What programs or policies do you support, if any, to encourage entrepreneurship?
Do you believe there is inequity and/or discrimination in the workforce in Georgia? If so, what policies do you support to address this?
Note: We welcome any responses from candidates who did not previously answer our questionnaire request.
