Opinion

Puzder is terrible choice to head Labor Department

Posted February 01, 2017 12:00 am

Time and time again during his campaign, Donald Trump promised to be a champion of hardworking people, claiming that only he could make their jobs and their lives better.

It didn't take long to discover how hollow these promises were. His choice to be the nation's Secretary of Labor is fast-food CEO Andrew Puzder. Andrew Puzder's company is the subject of numerous class-action lawsuits alleging failure to fairly compensate managers for overtime, has faced over $20 million in unpaid wages to workers in California alone and has seen its member restaurants found guilty of violating the nation's wage and hour laws in 60 of the investigations into their practices.

Puzder opposes any meaningful increase in the federal minimum wage, opposes the new regulations that would provide overtime pay to 14.5 million workers and regularly criticizes pro-worker regulations that govern wages and health and safety as "too costly" for business, dismissing the overwhelming benefits to workers.

As a CEO, Puzder has shown little regard for working people. Putting Andrew Puzder in charge of the Labor Department is a terrible way to start.

David Bigsby

Arlington Heights

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