One Thing for February 13th, 2017
Andrew Puzder, Workers Rights and Bolivian Street Zebras
ONE THING YOU SHOULD KNOW
On Thursday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for Andrew Puzder, President Trump’s nominee to head the department of labor.
The nomination of Puzder has been contentious for a variety of reasons and the initial confirmation hearing has already been delayed four times. According to several reports, Puzder has had difficulty working out an agreement with the Office of Government Ethics about the state of his financial holdings. Since 2000, Puzder has been the CEO of CKE Restaurants, the parent company of Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s.
In his role as CEO, Puzder was party to several incidents that would now fall under his purview. In 2004, CKE negotiated a $9 million settlement to a class-action suit brought by restaurant managers who accused the company of wage theft, including not paying employees for overtime. CKE has also been investigated on a number of occasions by the very department Puzder has been picked to run. Among other issues, CKE has been cited 21 times by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and has been investigated multiple times for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
According to its mission statement, the Department of Labor is tasked with promoting the welfare of wage-earners, improving working conditions, and ensuring work-related benefits and rights. So what might a Puzder Labor Department look like? One likely result of Puzder’s appointment will be the death of a 2016 rule which mandated overtime pay for many white-collar workers. The implementation of this rule was blocked by a federal judge in November and Puzder will likely instruct the Department of Labor to drop its defense. Also on the list of regulations the Labor Department can unilaterally change are “union persuader” rules that require companies to disclose how much they pay anti-union activists, and a rule that requires companies to disclose past labor law violations when competing for government contracts.
Beyond these policy concerns, Puzder faces a handful of more scandalous issues that would likely have derailed the nominee of a typical administration. It was recently revealed that Puzder employed an undocumented immigrant as a housekeeper. In 1993, a similar revelation forced Bill Clinton’s choice for attorney general to withdraw her nomination. Puzder has also had to answer for allegations of spousal abuse stemming from statements made by his ex-wife during divorce proceedings and an appearance she made on The Oprah Winfrey Show in the late 80’s. In the weeks leading up to his nomination, Puzder’s ex-wife retracted her claims and defended Puzder in a letter obtained by Politico.
The committee hearing for Andrew Puzder’s nomination is scheduled for Thursday, February 16th at 10 A.M. If you’d like to make your voice heard about Puzder’s nomination, your senators’ numbers are available here and a brief explainer on what to say when you call can be found here.
ONE THING YOU CAN DO
In addition to direct engagement with elected officials, it’s important to recognize that daily acts of kindness and conscientiousness can be political actions as well. As someone who has worked in the service industry, I can speak to the power simple words and signs of appreciation can have in those circumstances. With that in mind, consider the following action. If you eat at a restaurant this week, leave a 50% tip along with a note showing your appreciation for the value of the person serving you. I know this is simple, but simple actions together can be quite powerful.
If you’d like more information on advancing the rights of workers or if you want to get involved, check out Interfaith Worker Justice. You can find a list of local affiliate groups here.
ONE THING TO GIVE YOU HOPE
In La Paz, the capital city of Bolivia, officials have come up with an innovative way to encourage drivers to be more cautious: volunteers in full-body zebra suits. Across the city more than 200 volunteers dance, direct traffic, and help people cross the street every day. The idea is an offshoot of a 1990s-era program in Bogota, Colombia where the mayor deployed mimes to tease and shame drivers who broke traffic laws. During the mayors tenure, the mimes were credited with contributing to a 50% decrease in traffic fatalities.
Read more here.
Want to receive One Thing in your inbox? Subscribe here.
