Incoming Secretary of Labor: Andrew Puzder

December 8, President-elect Donald Trump announced he was nominating fast food CEO Andrew Puzder to head the U.S. Department of Labor as Secretary of Labor. Since 2000, Puzder has been the CEO of CKE Restaurants, Inc., owner of the Hardee’s and Carl Jr. fast food restaurants.

Puzder’s confirmation hearing is set for January 12.

What We Know 

Positions Reported on in the Media:

• Critic of raising the minimum wage
• Against making more workers eligible for overtime pay through the recent Executive Order ‘overtime rule’
• Anti-Unions
• Opposes the Affordable Care Act
• Critic of regulations he says have stifled growth in the restaurant industry
• Puzder is on the board of the International Franchise Association, a trade group that has criticized the Obama administration for “attacking” the franchising model by implementing regulations it says stunt job growth

Possible Challenges:

• Department of Labor might investigate the companies he’s worked for, causing a potential conflict of interest
• No political position experience
• AFL CIO opposes his appointment

Positives:

• Business background
• Labor law knowledge
• Served as an economic adviser to Mitt Romney’s campaign for president
• Served as a delegate in the 2012 Republican National Convention
• Chaired the platform committee’s Sub-Committee on the Economy, Job Creation and the Debt
• Appointed to serve on the National Advisory Board of Washington University School of Law

The current Secretary of Labor is Thomas Perez, who was appointed by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate in 2013. His nomination was supported by labor groups, such as the AFL-CIO, and the United Farm Workers of America.

 

The New York Times – Trump’s Labor Pick, Andrew Puzder, Is Critic of Minimum Wage Increases by Noam Scheiber Dec. 8, 2016

Andrew Puzder’s bio on CKE Restaurant’s website

The Wall Street Journal – Trump Picks Fast-Food Executive Andy Puzder as Nominee for Labor Secretary by Melanie Trottman, Julie Jargon and Michael C. Bender, Dec. 8, 2016

The New York Times The Opinions Pages, The Non-Affordable Care Act’s Restaurant Recession, by Andrew Puzder, October 30, 2016

The New York Times The Opinions Pages – Don’t Let Trump Speak for Workers, by Richard Trumka, president of the A.F.L.-C.I.O. December 27, 2016

The New York Times The Opinions Pages,  Obama’s Overtime-Pay Boomerang, by Andrew Puzder, March 25, 2014