BNA • Ben Penn

The effort to derail Andrew Puzder’s labor secretary confirmation could get a boost from new Republican opposition to President Donald Trump’s education nominee, but it’s still too early to draw close parallels.

Two moderate Republican Senators—Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine)—both said Feb. 1 that they will vote against Betsy DeVos for secretary of education. That raises the question of whether they might also cross the aisle to disapprove of Puzder at either his committee vote or, more likely, on the Senate floor.

Until Puzder submits his paperwork and testifies before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, it’s difficult to predict whether a few GOP Senators would defect and vote against the fast-food executive. Still, increased vulnerability for DeVos signals that lobbyists on both sides of the issue may redouble efforts to focus on Collins, Murkowski and other centrist Senators in both parties. If DeVos were to be officially blocked, this could give more ammunition to the anti-Puzder movement.

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The Tennessean • Jordan Buie

On the same day as a mobile billboard commissioned by a national women’s advocacy group circled in Franklin in protest of Labor Secretary nominee Andrew Puzder, , a local labor union delivered a petition to Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker in opposition to Puzder.

The Central Labor Council of Nashville and Middle Tennessee delivered the petition with 500 local signatures, pushing a national petition to over 50,000 on the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrialized Organizations national labor union website.

“Mr. Puzder has proven in his time as CEO of CKE Restaurants that he is not an advocate for working families,” said Central Labor Council of Nashville and Middle TN president Vonda McDaniel in a news release. “The Secretary of Labor is tasked with enforcing the laws that protect workers from abuse and exploitation. Given his history, it is clear that Mr. Puzder cannot be trusted to fill that role and we join thousands of voices across the country in urging our senators to vote against his confirmation.”

Puzder’s stance against raising minimum wage, automation and his view of the Affordable Care Act as a burden to employers has put him at odds with labor unions.

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Newsweek • David Madland

President Trump’s nomination of fast food CEO Andrew Puzder to head the U.S. Department of Labor is a betrayal to American workers—including the very workers Trump promised to champion.

The reasons are plenty: Puzder’s firms have a long record of violating basic workplace standards. Puzder opposes raising the minimum wage. He expresses disdain for allowing workers to earn overtime, take breaks, or bargain collectively with corporate headquarters.

He even once said he would be interested in trading his workers with machines, because machines “never take a vacation, they never show up late, there’s never a slip-and-fall, or an age, sex, or race discrimination case.”

But perhaps the ultimate betrayal comes from the fact that Puzder, whose confirmation hearing is set for February 2, believes that trickle-down economics is somehow good for the economy.

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Bangor Daily News • Laura O’Meara

As small-business owners in Portland, my husband and I are appalled that President Donald Trump has nominated Andrew Puzder, a millionaire fast food CEO, to lead the U.S. Department of Labor. Puzder’s record shows a disregard not just for workers, but also all small-business owners and responsible employers who believe in safe, fair workplaces.

We have owned a small, independent bookstore with two locations in Maine since 1987. Our staff includes amazing full-time employees who have worked for us from seven to 29 years. We have always operated our business with the knowledge that our success was dependent on the dedication and motivation of our employees. Unlike Puzder, we treat our employees fairly with dignity and respect.

Small business and communities benefit from the key workplace protections that Puzder has attacked. Puzder opposes meaningful raises to the minimum wage, arguing it would be harmful to employers. As a small business, our experience matches what the data nationally and in Maine say — paying fair wages boosts business by increasing employee well-being and reducing employee turnover. So we heartily supported raising the minimum wage, first in Portland and then across Maine.

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San Francisco Chronicle • Joan M. Graff

It’s clear that Labor Secretary nominee Andrew Puzder disdains the mission of the nearly 104-year-old agency he is nominated to run. As the steward of workers’ rights, the Department of Labor is charged with ensuring that workers are paid fairly and that their rights to a safe and healthy workplace free of harassment are secure.

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Huffington Post • Dave Jamieson

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The Hill • Deborah Berokwitz

Twenty-year old Regina Elsea was employed as a temporary worker in an auto parts plant in Alabama. When she wasn’t working, she was planning her wedding for the summer of 2016. But just two weeks before the big day, her plans came to a horrific end while she was at work. The plant assembly line stopped, and she and three coworkers entered a robotic station to clear a sensor fault. While she was inside the machine, the robot restarted abruptly, crushing her to death.

An investigation by the government’s workplace safety agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), found that her tragic death could have been prevented had Regina’s employers followed basic safety precautions. Her employers had never implemented the basic safety procedures, around for decades, to prevent machines from starting up when workers are inside. This is one of the oldest and most basic of all safety rules. In December, OSHA levied more than $2.5 million in fines against the company.

As the Senate gets ready to consider the President Trump’s nomination of Andrew Puzder for U.S. secretary of Labor, it’s important that worker safety issues get the full attention they deserve during his confirmation hearings. Puzder is an outspoken critic of regulations who fails to acknowledge the crucial role that regulations play in saving lives, protecting workers’ health, and even saving businesses money through lower insurance costs, for example. In more than 50 percent of the OSHA investigations in CKE restaurants and franchises since 2000, OSHA has found violations.

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