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Is Andrew Puzder the person to lead the Department of Labor?

Protestors
William Alatriste/City Council

Now that Donald Trump has been sworn in as the nation’s 45th President battle lines have been drawn over the confirmation of his controversial cabinet nominees like his pick to lead the Department of Labor Andrew Puzder, who is a fast-food tycoon.

Puzder is an ardent booster of free and unfettered market capitalism. At an economic policy forum he described how the founder of his global empire got started with just one hot dog stand in California:

"That $315 investment has grown into CKE restaurants. CKE stands for Carl Karcher Enterprises. The international corporation it has been my privilege to lead for the past fifteen years with a system that today employs close to 100,000 people worldwide and generated over $4 billion in system wide sales last year in over 3,600 Carl Jr’s and Hardy’s quick service restaurants in 44 states and 37 countries.”

Puzder has been a vocal critic of President Obama’s Affordable Health Care Act and like President Trump believes government regulation holds back companies from being profitable which limits the growth of the economy:

“When government takes power it takes it from somewhere or someone. That someone is you.Whenever government gives you something it takes something from you, your independence, your freedom.”

Across the country Puzder’s franchises have repeatedly been cited for violations of state and Federal labor laws, including wage theft. Puzder is a fierce opponent of the national campaign to raise fast food wages to $15 an hour. He mocked the concept on a recent appearance with John Stossel:

“I have a sixteen year old son, and I really love him but there is no way in the world I would pay that kid twelve dollars an hour to do something. We are loosing a generation of people because we have eliminated the job that those people normally filled. You pay somebody $15 an hour to scoop ice cream—how good could you be at scooping ice cream. It is just not a job you could compensate somebody like that."

PROTEST CHANTS:

“Hold your burgers, hold your fries, down with Puzder and his lies. Hold your burgers, hold your fries, down with Puzder and his lies.”

Earlier this month dozens of fast food workers who are part of the nation fast food worker fight for $15 an hour converged on the Department of Labor’s offices in Lower Manhattan to protest Puzder’s nomination. Similar protests continue to be held across the country. City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Vivireto told the crowd Puzder’s track record disqualified him for the post:

"He is notorious for his anti-worker rhetoric, his public stances against raising the minimum wage or supporting what should be basic employee rights. So this means that his nomination will have a chilling effect on labor, and labor organizing, and the fight for workers to get what is right and just.”

Hector Figueroa, is President of 32 BJ SEIU one of the prime supporters of the Fight for $15. He told the crowd the national Campaign for $15 has already prompted several states to raise their minimum wage including both New York and New Jersey:

"So brothers and sisters how is it possible that a time that the fight for $15 that started with fast food workers protesting against the worst work places in our urban cities in our country. Fast food workers represent the kind of low wage exploitation that we want to end. They have been on strike. They had led a movement the fight for $15 that has resulted increase for millions of workers."

Jarel Ware is a fast food worker with the fight for $15. Ware was particularly outraged by comments Puzder made about the efficacy of replacing low wage workers with machines:

"I am out here today because anti-labor secretary because Donald Trump appointed Andy Puzder and he is not for worker’s rights —he is not with the progression for workers—he is trying to hinder us from making living wages and working a full time job, he is trying to replace us with machines. So we are here to tell him we are noir going to stop. we don;t care who is here or who is in office. We are going to continue our fight for a living wage.”

It would appear the national protests have had some impact. Puzder’s confirmation hearings were put off twice this month and are no scheduled for sometime in February.