Senate Republicans Haven’t Vetted Trump Labor Nominee, So We Did
Labor Nominee Andy Puzder’s Confirmation Hearing Has Been Postponed by the Trump Administration and Senate Republicans
Five Times, A New Hearing Date Has Not Yet Been Assigned
Read Puzder’s Vetting Report Here: TrumpTransparency.org/AndyPuzder
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Since President Trump selected Andy Puzder as his nominee for Labor Secretary, the fast food CEO’s confirmation process has screeched to a halt. Amid rumors that he no longer wants the job, and allegations of domestic abuse and mistreatment of workers, the Trump administration and Senate Republicans have delayed his confirmation hearing five times, and have now postponed his initial hearing indefinitely.
While it has been widely reported that the Trump team did not fully vet their nominees before announcing them, Trump Transparency Project spent the last two months doing its own vetting of Puzder.
“While Trump and Senate Republicans have spent the two months since Puzder was nominated dithering, we’ve spent that time digging into Puzder’s record of systematic labor violations, misogynistic work environments, and controversial statements and policy positions,” said Karl Frisch, Executive Director of Allied Progress.
He continued, “This vetting report confirms what many of us already knew: Donald Trump has assembled a team of Wall Street insiders and corporate bad actors to run the country. Puzder’s anti-worker philosophy protects profits for powerful corporations and their CEOs while deliberately making it more difficult for hard-working Americans to get ahead. It’s that record and worldview that make Andy Puzder uniquely unqualified to serve as Secretary of Labor.”
Themes from Puzder’s Trump Transparency Project vetting profile include:
- Puzder thinks his workers are “the worst of the worst” and he treats them like it (he also wouldn’t mind replacing them with robots).
- Puzder’s CKE Restaurants have a vast sexual harassment and violent sexual assault problem. two-thirds of female employees say they have been harassed.
- Puzder’s CKE Restaurants also have a problem with racial, gender, age, and disability discrimination.
- Puzder’s CKE Restaurants has spent tens-of-millions of dollars on wage theft, discrimination, and lawsuits while nearly 60 percent of Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) investigations of the company resulted in violations.
- Puzder is opposed to overtime pay, minimum wage increases, paid family leave for low-wage workers, meanwhile his company has paid $20 million on lawsuits for wage theft.
- Puzder is at odds with trump on undocumented immigrants, and questioned if trump would be a good president.
- Puzder cares little about the health and safety of his workers, has gone to great lengths to them deny medical insurance.
- You might want to think twice before eating at one of Puzder’s restaurants once you know about their health code violations.
- Puzder treats his workers like they are disposable, and then fights their efforts to unionize for better pay, benefits, and working conditions.
Last month, Allied Progress launched Trump Transparency Project, an initiative aimed at holding the incoming administration accountable for its economic appointments and policies that betray America’s middle class. The newly released vetting report of Puzder can be found here.
Karl Frisch is available to speak to members of the media regarding Puzder’s nomination. Contact Mike Czin at 202-286-7654 or mczin@skdknick.com.
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Allied Progress is a nationwide, progressive advocacy organization that uses hard-hitting research and creative campaigns to hold Wall Street and powerful special interests accountable. Since launching in 2015, the organization has led high-profile campaigns on several issues including reforming the payday lending industry and exposing the those working to cripple the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).