Andrew Puzder withdrawal stark example of rough start for Trump WH
President Donald Trump plans to announce a new labor secretary nominee a day after his original pick, Andrew Puzder, abruptly withdrew from consideration. Trump scheduled a news conference Thursday afternoon to announce his new candidate for the labor job. “The man I’ll be announcing for labor is a star, great person,” Trump said as he opened a meeting with some of his staunchest supporters in the House. Puzder’s withdrawal was a stark example of the disorganized nature of the new administration not known for thorough vetting of its people or its plans. Contentious confirmation fights, a botched rollout of Trump’s refugee order and the ouster this week of National Security Adviser Michael Flynn have nearly paralyzed the administration. Republicans grumbled about the stream of “distractions,” including the torrent of criticism about Puzder’s personal life and his record as CEO of CKE Restaurants, Inc. What ultimately drained Puzder of enough Republican support for confirmation was his acknowledgment — well after Trump had become president — of employing a housekeeper not authorized to work in the U.S. Puzder said he had fired the employee about five years ago. But he did not pay the related taxes until after Trump nominated him as labor secretary on Dec. 9. Puzder said he paid the taxes as soon as he found out he owed them, but there was no explanation of why he didn’t know or pay for five years. Spokesman George Thompson said Wednesday that Puzder did not tell the White House about the housekeeper issue until after he had been nominated. It’s not clear that Trump’s aides asked the immigration question before the nomination even though such issues have sunk past presidential nominations and Trump has taken a hard line on people in the U.S. illegally. People who were interviewed during the transition period said they were not asked by Trump’s team to provide vetting information, raising questions about the level of scrutiny. Ultimately, Republicans made it clear that Puzder lacked the votes in a chamber narrowly split between Republicans and Democrats. There was scant, if any, praise for his vetting. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Lamar Alexander, who would have chaired Puzder’s confirmation hearing Thursday, issued statements praising Puzder’s qualifications but saying they “respect” his decision. Puzder fell to a relentless series of attacks from Democrats, labor and other groups who opposed him on ideological and personal grounds. They contended that his corporate background and opposition to such proposals as a big hike in the minimum wage made him an unfit advocate for American workers at the top of an agency charged with enforcing worker protections. They rolled out stories from workers who said they were treated badly at Puzder’s company. And they were ready to make his women and his workers part of the hearing on Thursday. Puzder was quoted in Entrepreneur magazine in 2015 as saying, “I like beautiful women eating burgers in bikinis.” He said the racy commercials for Carl’s Jr., one of his companies, were “very American.” Democrats also said Puzder had disparaged workers at his restaurants. He was quoted by Business Insider as saying he wanted to try robots at his restaurants, because “They’re always polite, they always upsell, they never take a vacation, they never show up late, there’s never a slip-and-fall, or an age, sex or race discrimination case.” A coalition led by the pro-labor National Employment Law Project and Jobs With Justice groups said Puzder’s withdrawal represents the “first victory of the resistance against President Trump.” “Workers and families across the country spoke up loud and clear that they want a true champion for all workers in the Labor Department,” said Sen. Patty Murray, the ranking Democrat on the panel that was to handle the hearing. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Andrew Puzder withdraws nomination for labor secretary
Andrew Puzder says he is withdrawing as President Donald Trump’s nominee for labor secretary. The fast food executive says in a statement provided to The Associated Press that he was “honored to have been considered by President Donald Trump to lead the Department of Labor and put America’s workers and businesses back on a path to sustainable prosperity.” Puzder says “while I won’t be serving in the administration, I fully support the President and his highly qualified team.” Puzder’s confirmation hearing was scheduled for Thursday. But some Republicans had raised concerns about his failure to pay taxes for five years on a former housekeeper who wasn’t authorized to work in the U.S. Puzder is CEO of CKE Restaurants Inc. Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
Labor nominee Andrew Puzder expected to withdraw
According to sources close to the White House, Donald Trumps‘ Department of Labor nominee Andrew Puzder is preparing to withdraw his nomination. Puzder’s alleged decision comes in the wake of senior Senate Republicans asking the White House to rescind Puzder’s nomination after they determined there was not enough support to get him through the process. Puzder needs at least 50 votes to be confirmed with the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Mike Pence. The CEO of the company that owns the Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. fast food chains, Puzder’s nomination was dismantled by reports that he employed an undocumented immigrant and didn’t pay taxes on her compensation, that he apprenticed to a mob lawyer, and that his former wife alleged that he abused her, though she later recanted the claim. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer echoed the criticisms against the nominee with a public statement Wednesday afternoon. “No matter how you cut it, there is no worse pick for labor secretary than Andrew Puzder, and I’m encouraged my Republican colleagues are starting to agree,” the New York Democrat said. “He does not belong anywhere near the Labor Department, let alone at the head of it. Puzder’s disdain for the American worker, the very people he would be responsible for protecting, is second to none.” “President Trump should immediately withdraw this nomination and nominate a champion of worker’s rights.” Alabama Today could not reach a Puzder spokesman for comment.
Labor secretary nominee Andrew Puzder’s company outsourced jobs
The fast-food empire run by President Donald Trump‘s pick for Labor secretary outsourced its technology department to the Philippines, a move that runs counter to Trump’s mantra to keep jobs in the United States A filing with the Department of Labor and Trump’s criticism of outsourcing could be raised at Andrew Puzder‘s confirmation hearing, with Democrats questioning how well he can advocate for workers. Puzder’s company, CKE Restaurants Inc., notified the government in August of 2010 that it was outsourcing its restaurant information technology division to the Philippines. Doing so, the agency found, “contributed importantly” to the layoffs of both CKE employees and those of an outside staffing firm at an Anaheim, California facility. The agency’s finding made workers eligible for federally funded benefits meant to dampen the impact of globalization on employees. “By outsourcing the function to a firm that employs hundreds of Help Desk specialists, CKE was able to improve the quality of service levels to their restaurants,” the company said in a statement Wednesday to The Associated Press. There’s nothing illegal, or even uncommon, about CKE’s decision to move its help desk overseas and lay off about 20 workers. But the filing — and a spokesman’s acknowledgement that CKE continues to use the IT operation in the Philippines — provides a window into a key contradiction raised by Trump’s nomination of Puzder to head the Cabinet agency charged with enforcing worker rights. “President Trump has said that he will put American workers first, but it increasingly appears this was just empty campaign rhetoric_and we saw this so clearly in who he nominated to lead the Department of Labor,” said Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the senior Democrat on the committee that will consider Puzder’s nomination. “This filing showing jobs being outsourced overseas is yet another troubling example of workers being squeezed by companies under Andrew Puzder’s leadership.” During his first week in the White House, Trump warned that he would impose a “substantial border tax” on companies that move their manufacturing out of the United States. He also promised tax advantages to companies that produce products domestically. “All you have to do is stay,” he said during a meeting in the White House’s Roosevelt Room. Trump’s companies have regularly outsourced supply purchases and sometimes used guest workers. Trump’s anti-outsourcing message, begun during the presidential campaign, is based on the idea that the practice has hurt middle and lower-income working Americans who feel left behind in the nation’s economic recovery and form much of the new president’s political base. In its statement, CKE defended its decision to move its IT division overseas. “The existing CKE restaurant support staff was insufficient to adequately cover the disproportionately high volume of help desk calls that occur during the early morning hours and to provide full, 24-hours per day, 7-days per week coverage. So, CKE shifted its small help desk services team to a firm that provides both offshore and onshore support.” The Department of Labor’s determination that outsourcing cost the CKE Restaurant employees their jobs was one of more than 2,400 such certifications made in 2010. Outsourcing IT jobs is not unusual, especially in the restaurant industry, because of the cost, said Frank Casale of the Outsourcing Institute and co-founder of the Institute for Robotic Process Automation. “It’s going to be cheaper. From the standpoint of efficiency, it’s going to be better.” The Senate Health, Labor, Education and Pensions Committee has scheduled a Feb. 7 hearing on Puzder’s nomination, a hearing that has been postponed at least twice. Committee Democrats have offered up current and former employees of his companies to tell unflattering stories about their treatment while working for Puzder’s companies. Democrats and their allies say Puzder’s corporate mindset and his public statements call into question his fitness to defend government rules designed to protect American workers. And they’ve assailed Puzder’s opposition to a big raise in the minimum wage, among other positions. “The proof that the Trump administration won’t look out for working families is right there: Trump and his cabinet built their careers by hurting U.S. workers,” said Jessica Mackler, president of super PAC American Bridge, which backed Hillary Clinton during the 2016 campaign. At a 2013 American Enterprise Conference, Puzder said Hardee’s Restaurant operators in the Southeast and Midwest were jealous of the immigrant-heavy workforce in California. “In other parts of the country you often get people that are saying, ‘I can’t believe I have to work this job,’” he said. But in California, he added, “with the immigration population you always have the, ‘Thank God I have this job’ kind of attitude.” Puzder also has talked about replacing American workers who demand higher wages with robots, which he said are always polite, never late, and don’t sue their employers for discrimination, according to an interview with Business Insider. A statement from Puzder released by the Trump campaign in December struck a different note, promising that he’d be “the best champion American workers have had.” Trump and Puzder have said the nominee’s role as a jobs creator prepares him be a powerful advocate for American workers. Puzder tweeted on Jan. 16, “I am looking forward to my hearing.” Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
DHS, DOL refuse to investigate lawmaker claims of abuse in visa program for specialty workers
A second federal agency has refused to look into claims that companies are using a popular visa program to displace American workers with cheap labor, ALToday.com has learned. In early April, a bipartisan group of senators led by U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions and Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin had urged the departments of Justice, Labor, and Homeland Security to investigate alleged abuses of the H-1B visa program. On April 23, a DOL official responded stating that the agency “lacks a basis to initiate an investigation.” The Department of Homeland Security issued a response late last week saying that the agency would not be pursuing an investigation of the H-1B program. The H-1B program allows employers to hire immigrant workers with highly specialized knowledge or education. Information from the Department of Labor website says that the program is intended to help companies that can’t find American workers with needed skills. The senators claimed to have gotten reports that at least one large company, Southern California Edison, was using the program to replace and undercut wages for American workers. “The U.S. is graduating twice as many STEM students each year as find jobs in those fields, yet the H-1B program continues to provide IT companies with a large annual supply of lower-wage guest workers to hire in place of more qualified Americans,” Senators Session and Durbin said in a joint news release. “There is no ‘shortage’ of talented Americans, only a shortage of officials willing to protect them.” According to reports by the Los Angeles Times, Southern California Edison officials deny that they are seeking to displace U.S. workers, and have vowed to “cooperate with any investigation” initiated by the senators. The DHS response to the senators’ letter came from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Leon Rodriguez. Rodriguez wrote, “… it would be premature for USCIS to speculate as to whether Southern California Edison’s participation in the H-1B program has violated any laws. If facts come to our attention that indicate violations have occurred, USCIS will take appropriate action to maintain the integrity of our programs.” In a prepared statement, the senators said they were “disappointed” with the DHS response. “We did not ask for speculation; we asked for an investigation, and an explanation of any legal obstacles to conducting such an investigation.” Meanwhile, applications for the temporary visa program reached their congressionally mandated limit for the third year in a row, CNBC reported. According to that same story, USCIS began accepting 2016 applications in early April and met the 65,000 cap in just one week.
