State Labor Commissioner Nominee holds no license to drive

Mike Workman

Updated: In an exclusive wide-ranging video interview, Oklahoma Labor Commissioner Nominee Mike Workman admitted he holds no valid drivers license, but drove himself to and from the recording studio.

Workman said, “I qualify and have a public ID. I have a non-moving offense in Texas that I am contesting and I can’t get it cleared up in time.”

Workman did assert that his lack of license was not the reason he wanted to open a Tulsa office for the Labor Department and that he “gets rides with people and sometimes in emergencies I drive myself.”

Apparently, this interview was, as he defines it, an emergency as Workman drove alone to and from the recording studio. Workman received a traffic ticket March 20, 2014 in Creek County for driving without a valid license.  UPDATE: According to the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, Mike Keith Workman has not held an Oklahoma Drivers License in at least the past 10 years.

Mike Workman and David Arnett

Asked of his experience that would be helpful in this office Workman said, “When I was a band director, I was involved in teacher organizations and we used to joke that we only cared about three things; salary, benefits and working conditions. Everything else tends to take care of itself once you get those three things done. The job of Labor Commissioner, by no coincidence, stands for the same three things.”

"I agree [with the protest movement Occupy Tulsa and Occupy Wall Street] that income equality is a problem in this country."

Workman said he helped organize Move On Tulsa and “served as the local coordinator and the state and regional coordinator for several years.” The objective of that group Workman said, “was to pass affordable healthcare.”

A Labor Commissioner “needs to be helping implement the Affordable Health Care Act and helping to extend it.” Workman said adding that he knew that if Joe Dorman was elected governor, he would also be a “strong supporter.”

Workman said, "the job of State Labor Commissioner was created to show respect for the wage earners."

Workman often returned to his apparent campaign theme of “making the office more accessible by having a Tulsa office and even temporary offices around the state.”

Workman complemented the staff of the Labor Department, but asserted that "some jobs were being neglected and that current Labor Commissioner Mark Costello did not follow the law when he closed the Tulsa office."

Workman said the benefits all Oklahomans would receive if he was elected include “respect” and “more quickly responding to wage and benefit complaints” and to “make sure staff has all the resources they need for investigations of child labor violations, elevator and amusement ride inspections and license requirements and such.”

First the specific question and answer on the Driver License:

http://youtu.be/k9O6ENbx9Vk

As Mike Workman has asserted in subsequent media interviews that his lack of a valid driver's license is no big deal, we note that according to the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety, Mike Keith Workman has not held an Oklahoma Drivers License for at least 10 years. He has also NOT paid a $256.00 fine from his ticket in Creek County issued March 20, 2014 as of this post. So, in summary, this candidate for statewide office has been driving statewide in violation of law.

The following is the complete unedited interview.  Run time 29.4 minutes. More information on Mike Workman's campaign may be found by clicking here.