Labor advocates in the Bay Area and beyond are celebrating the news that President Donald Trump’s choice to serve as the next Secretary of Labor has withdrawn his nomination.
Andrew , CEO of CKE Restaurants, which includes fast food restaurants Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr., has drawn criticism from Bay Area workers, labor advocates and politicians over his personnel practices and his past criticisms of minimum wage ordinances, something Bay Area leaders have pushed forward in recent years. Puzder has also been under fire for allegations (that were recanted) that he abused his ex-wife.
“Puzder withdrawing his nomination is a victory because millions of working people stood up and said no to having the Labor Department run by someone who is anti-worker,” said Kate O’Hara, executive director of the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy, in a statement emailed to this news organization. “With Puzder at the helm, all the gains that low-wage workers have gained over the last few years would be at risk. Anyone who heads the department to improve labor conditions must fundamentally believe in the value that anyone who works should be able to put food on the table and raise our families with dignity.”
Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, expressed relief at Puzder’s withdrawal on Twitter, where she said, “Andy Puzder’s nomination was an insult to working families across America. Make no mistake: the #resistance won this fight.”
The Bay Area has been a hub for the type of minimum wage and other worker ordinances that Puzder opposed.
After years of pressure from workers and advocates, minimum-wage rates have increased for many cities around the Bay Area, including a round of increases that went into effect on the first day of this year. Some cities implemented the changes as part of a plan to reach $15 per hour in several years, ahead of the statewide mandate to hit that rate by 2023. Workers have also pushed for “fair scheduling” ordinances designed to make employees’ schedules more stable and reduce underemployment.
The nation’s Secretary of Labor, according to the Department of Labor, “fosters and promotes the welfare of the job seekers, wage earners and retirees of the United States by improving their working conditions, advancing their opportunities for profitable employment, protecting their retirement and health care benefits, helping employers find workers (and) strengthening free collective bargaining.” Following Puzder’s nomination, workers and advocacy groups protested the pick, saying Puzder’s track record of opposing minimum wage ordinances and worker protections is not a good fit for the position.
“Puzder sought to lead the department tasked with protecting the rights of workers, but he has a well-documented record of cheating his employees out of their wages, opposing increases to the minimum wage and violating labor law,” said Ben Field, executive officer of the South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council. “Working people stood together to oppose Puzder’s nomination and will oppose the nomination of any person who is not committed to improving the lives America’s workers.”
Rose Wells, 25, is a retail worker living in Oakland and a member of the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment Action. She said she was encouraged by Puzder’s withdrawal.
“It’s comforting to me because it shows that protesting in a strategic way actually does work,” Wells said. “A lot of people who work in retail or labor positions feel insignificant, but this action shows that your voice does matter. It makes me feel empowered.”