For Immediate Release 
December 8, 2016

President-Elect Donald J. Trump Nominates Andy Puzder as
Secretary of the Department of Labor

 (New York, NY) – President-elect Donald J. Trump today announced his intent to nominate Andy Puzder, CEO of CKE Restaurants, as Secretary of the Department of Labor.
 
“Andy Puzder has created and boosted the careers of thousands of Americans, and his extensive record fighting for workers makes him the ideal candidate to lead the Department of Labor,” said President-elect Trump. “Andy will fight to make American workers safer and more prosperous by enforcing fair occupational safety standards and ensuring workers receive the benefits they deserve, and he will save small businesses from the crushing burdens of unnecessary regulations that are stunting job growth and suppressing wages.”
 
“I am honored to be nominated by President-elect Trump for Secretary of Labor. I look forward to the opportunity to help President-elect Trump restore America’s global economic leadership,” said Mr. Puzder. “The President-elect believes, as do I, that the right government policies can result in more jobs and better wages for the American worker. I’m proud to be offered the chance to serve in his Administration.”
 
“I congratulate Andy Puzder on his nomination by President-elect Trump to serve our nation as Secretary of Labor. As someone who has worked with CKE for more than three decades – from a restaurant crew member, to my current position as COO – I have personally witnessed the leadership Andy has demonstrated since he became CEO in 2000.  He has always led CKE as an entrepreneurial company maintaining a focus on hard work and motivation instead of bureaucracy and red tape. Andy is someone who understands workers, their motivation, and what employees need in terms of job fulfillment and opportunities.  Andy’s leadership has provided growth opportunities for employees throughout our entire organization and I know he will be steadfast in promoting the welfare and success of all hard working American citizens in this new role,” said Eric Williams, Chief Operating Officer of CKE Restaurants Holdings, Inc.
 
“Andy Puzder's nomination as Secretary of Labor has given me even more faith in President-elect Trump’s commitment to leading America back to prosperity. I have seen numerous positive character traits in Andy while working with him at Carl's Jr. as a restaurant owner and franchisee for the past 13 years: he is solid on his word, sincere in his approach, and very driven to overcome whatever challenges may come his way. He sincerely cares as much about our cashiers as he does about the restaurant owners. His foresight, vision and desire for fairness will help make nationwide economic prosperity an achievable destination. His work ethic has been an inspiration to all of us who have worked along side of him, and it has been a pleasure to learn from the best of the best. I know he is going to do an outstanding job as President-elect Trump’s Secretary of Labor,” said Troi Martin Wierdsma, Carl’s Jr. Owner.
 
“Andy is an exceptional choice to lead the Labor Department due to his business experience and policy acumen on so many issues impacting employers and employees in today’s economy. Andy would also be able to champion how the franchise business model, which generates a higher percentage of new jobs in the economy than non-franchises, are a key part of the solution to wage growth and upward mobility that so many voters are looking for out of policymakers in Washington,” said Robert Cresanti, President & CEO of the International Franchise Association.
 
“Mr. Puzder would provide welcome relief for the small business community that has had to endure years of regulatory assault. He is someone who deeply understands the regulatory burden facing job creators because it is one that he lives with every day running two of the nation’s most popular restaurant franchises,” said Alfredo Ortiz, President, Job Creators Network in the Daily Caller.

Andy Puzder was raised in a working class community in Cleveland, Ohio. Son of a car salesman, Andy earned his way through school while supporting his family by working in construction, landscaping and painting houses. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Cleveland State University, becoming the first in his family to graduate from college, and a law degree at Washington University.

From 1978 through 1991, Mr. Puzder was a trial lawyer in St. Louis, Missouri, before entering private practice in California. In 1995, Mr. Puzder served as the Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Fidelity National Financial Inc., managing one of the largest corporate legal departments in the country.
 
In 1997, Mr. Puzder was named Executive Vice President and General Counsel for CKE Restaurants, and in 2000, Mr. Puzder became president and CEO of CKE Restaurants, Inc. Puzder is credited with turning around both the Hardee’s brand and CKE, allowing the company to survive. It is now a quick-service food organization that owns or franchises more than 3,750 restaurants in the United States and around the world, generates $1.4 billion in annual revenue and, with its franchises, employs more than 75,000 people in the U.S.
 
In 2010, Mr. Puzder co-wrote the book Job Creation: How It Really Works and Why Government Doesn’t Understand It, in which he helped provide a framework for instilling strong optimism among U.S. businesses that will create millions of new jobs. 

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National Restaurant Association
December 8, 2016

National Restaurant Association President & CEO Dawn Sweeney Congratulates Andy Puzder on Nomination as Labor Secretary

National Restaurant Association Member Brings Extensive Experience to Labor Department

Washington, D.C. — Today, President-elect Donald Trump named CKE Restaurants Holdings Inc. CEO Andy Puzder as his choice for Secretary of Labor. Puzder has served as CEO of CKE Restaurants, the parent company of Hardee’s, Carl’s Jr. and other well-known restaurant brands, since 2000.
 
Below is a statement from National Restaurant Association President and CEO Dawn Sweeney on Puzder’s nomination:
 
“We are excited about President-elect Trump’s announcement that Andy Puzder will serve as our nation’s next Secretary of Labor. As an active member of the National Restaurant Association, Andy brings much-needed business experience to the Department of Labor. He has a proven track record of turning around businesses, and his background in the restaurant industry will help foster an environment for job creation.
 
“The restaurant industry is the second largest private sector employer in the country, employing more than 14 million people and producing more than $780 billion in sales annually. It is encouraging someone who has worked in the industry and understands its vast benefits to the American economy as well as the challenges it currently faces will serve in one of the highest posts in the Administration.”
 
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ABOUT THE NATIONAL RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION
Founded in 1919, the National Restaurant Association is the leading business association for the restaurant industry, which comprises more than one million restaurant and foodservice outlets and a workforce of 14.4 million employees. We represent the industry in Washington, D.C., and advocate on its behalf. We operate the industry's largest trade show (NRA Show May 20-23 2017, in Chicago); leading food safety training and certification program (ServSafe); and unique career-building high school program (the NRAEF's ProStart). For more information, visit Restaurant.org and find us on, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)
December 8, 2016

Nomination of Andrew Puzder for Labor Secretary RaisesConcerns for American Workers

“The American people need to be reassured that the incoming Labor Secretary will not prioritize the interests of cheap labor employers over the interests of American workers,” said FAIR President Dan Stein
 
(December 8, 2016, Washington, D.C.) — The following statement was issued by Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) regarding the nomination of Andrew Puzder to be U.S. Secretary of Labor:
 
“Donald Trump was swept into office by championing the cause of American workers who have seen their jobs and wages steadily eroded by a combination of factors, including an immigration system that allows employers to exploit low-wage workers from other countries.
 
“President-elect Trump’s choice of Andrew Puzder to run the Department of Labor raises questions and concerns about whether he will vigorously defend the interests of American workers. Puzder has served as an executive of a fast food conglomerate – an industry that has thrived on low-wage labor, illegal workers, and which has lobbied for greater access to foreign guest workers to maximize corporate profits.
 
“Based on Puzder’s support for increased guest workers, can struggling American workers count on him to maintain tight labor markets that promote wage increases? Are his positions advocating ‘a pathway to adjusted status for those here illegally now,’ consistent with the interests of American workers who have been undermined by illegal immigration, or the Trump administration’s goal of reinstating the rule of law and putting Americans back to work?
 
“The outgoing Secretary of Labor prioritized the interests of illegal aliens over those of American workers. The American people need to be reassured that the incoming Labor Secretary will not prioritize the interests of cheap labor employers over the interests of those same American workers.”
 
ABOUT FAIR     
Founded in 1979, FAIR is the country’s largest immigration reform group.  With over 500,000 members and supporters nationwide, FAIR fights for immigration policies that serve national interests, not special interests.  FAIR believes that immigration reform must enhance national security, improve the economy, protect jobs, preserve our environment, and establish a rule of law that is recognized and enforced.
Communications Workers of America
December 8, 2016

CWA Statement on Likely Nomination of Andy Puzder as Secretary of Labor

Washington, D.C. -- Following is a statement by President Chris Shelton, Communications Workers of America:
Andy Puzder, the CEO of CKE Restaurants, would be a fine choice to head a government agency responsible for looking out for millionaires.

But Puzder has a record of public statements and action that demonstrates why he is a poor choice to head the agency responsible for promoting “the welfare of wage earners, job seekers and retirees.” The Department of Labor is supposed to be on the side of working people when it comes to keeping jobs safe, stopping employer abuse and safeguarding workers’ rights on the job. That’s what working people need.

Instead, Puzder opposes many of the policies and programs he would administer. He opposes the Department of Labor’s overtime rule and actually claimed that what workers “lose in overtime pay they gain in stature and sense of accomplishment.”

He objects to efforts to increase the minimum wage. He thinks government support programs for low-wage workers – like those who work at his own restaurant franchises – are a disincentive to work, despite the fact that many fast food and retail workers’ wages are so low that they qualify for food stamps, public housing assistance and Medicaid. He fails to realize that it is low-wage employers-- like him -- who are the cause of workers living in poverty.

Puzder’s record provides a troubling roadmap as to what he would attempt – or choose to ignore -- as Secretary of Labor.

My union and the entire labor movement are more committed than ever to fight employer wage theft, make sure workers can be safe on their jobs, stand up against poverty-level wages and challenge employer abuse. We will be the advocates that working people need because, sadly, it’s clear that help won’t be coming from the Department of Labor.
PRESS CONTACT: 
Candice Johnson
Fight for $15

December 8, 2016
Contact:  Jack Temple

Statement From the Fight for $15 on Expected Nomination of Andy Puzder as Labor Secretary

WASHINGTON -
In response to reports that Donald Trump will nominate Andy Puzder as U.S. Secretary of Labor, the Fight for $15 released the following statement from Carl’s Jr. cook Rogelio Hernandez from Santa Monica, Calif. and Hardee’s cashier Lacretia Jones from Richmond, Va.:

“Putting one of the worst fast-food CEOs in charge of national labor policy sends a signal to workers that the Trump years are going to be about low pay, wage theft, sexual harassment and racial discrimination. Instead of taking on the rigged economy, it seems like Trump wants to rig it up even more. Puzder is paid more in one daythan we each make in one year working at his restaurant chains, and that’s the way he wants to keep it. Puzder is against unions, calls the minimum wage and overtime ‘restrictions’ and employees ‘extra cost,’ and even said he wants to fire workers like us and replace us with machines that can’t take vacations or sue their employers when they break the law. It doesn’t matter who the labor secretary is, the Fight for $15 won’t back down for one minute in our demands for $15 an hour and union rights for all workers. If Trump is going to be a President for the fast food corporations instead of for the fast food workers he is going to be on the wrong side of history.”
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Fast food workers are coming together all over the country to fight for $15 an hour and the right to form a union without retaliation. We work for corporations that are making tremendous profits, but do not pay employees enough to support our families and to cover basic needs like food, health care, rent and transportation.

Center for American Progress
  • Date: December 8, 2016
  • Contact: Allison Preiss

STATEMENT: Anti-Worker Andrew Puzder Would Undermine Workers as Labor Secretary, Says CAP’s Karla Walter

Washington, D.C. — Karla Walter, Director of Employment Policy at the Center for American Progress, released the following statement on the nomination of Andrew Puzder, CEO of the parent company of Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr., to serve as the secretary of labor under President-elect Donald Trump:
Donald Trump ran on a platform of standing up for working people, but his nomination of Andrew Puzder for U.S. Department of Labor secretary shows that Trump’s administration will do just the opposite, creating an administration that works for CEOs, Wall Street, and the wealthiest few. Puzder—a billionaire who makes more in one day than the typical fast-food worker makes in a year—is a vocal opponent of standards to raise workers’ wages, including minimum-wage increases and expanding overtime to more workers. Puzder has complained about workplace standards that allow his own employees to take meal breaks and has said that he would be interested in replacing his workers with machines because, according to Puzder, machines are “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.”

Unfortunately, Puzder’s anti-worker rhetoric is already par for the course for the Trump administration. Just yesterday, the president-elect took to Twitter to attack a union local president for standing up for hundreds of Carrier workers who will lose their jobs though an incentive deal worked out by the new administration.

Americans deserve a labor secretary who will stand up for workers, not one who is hostile toward workers and undermines workers’ economic well-being at every turn.
For more information or to speak with an expert, contact Allison Preiss