Andy Puzder (YouTube).

All those people who thought Trump would be just ever so dandy for jobs, and the rights and wages of workers? Yeah, you can go screw yourself, because it will be much more gentle than what the incoming administration has in mind. I’ve posted about the new Labor Secretary before, and it was quite clear that he doesn’t think much of workers. Just in case that wasn’t quite plain enough, a bit of background on Puzder’s attitudes towards those worthless workers has surfaced.

The Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s parent company CEO has already come out against a $15-an-hour minimum wage on a recent radio interview with the horrible Hugh Hewitt. An op-ed in the Orange County Register  found a way to applaud the Puzder pick as someone who will somehow bring about wage growth. If you believe the Trumpbros, not only are you getting a businessman, but you’re getting a good, God-fearing man.

But a better, more revealing look into his views comes courtesy of a December 2009 interview stored in Cal State Fullerton’s Center for Oral and Public History (COPH). Allison Varzally spoke with Puzder at Carl Karcher Enterprises in Carpinteria for COPH’s Southern California Food Culture and Visionaries project.

[…]

Trump’s labor man also had choice words for Carl’s Jr.’s home state. “I think the big change in California, it’s really become a kind of socialist state,” Puzder opined. “You can’t be a capitalist in this state, and Carl was at heart a capitalist who created a company that to this day bears his initials.” The would-be Labor Secretary complained about regulations and overtime laws, claiming workers are overprotected.

“Have you ever been to a fast food restaurant and the employees are sitting and you’re wondering, ‘Why are they sitting?'” Puzder asked. “They are on what is called a mandatory break [emphasis his].” He shared a laugh with the interviewer, saying the so-called nanny state is why Carl’s Jr. doesn’t open up any new restaurants in California anymore.

Having been one of those workers who could, on occasion, be found sitting, resting screaming feet for a few moments, no, I have never wondered about why employees are sitting. Employees, they are human beings, who should be treated with respect, if nothing else. It’s not like a 10 or 15 minute break is a sudden luxury trip to the Bahamas. It’s barely time to slurp down a coffee or two, and just maybe, cram some sort of food in your mouth, as you frantically chew, trying not to choke, as you have to be back at station, now. I guess people with billions at their back just aren’t terribly empathetic. Golly, there’s a shock.

The above is from Gabriel San Roman’s article at OC Weekly. I’m going to adopt Mr. San Roman’s use of Pendejo-elect, and Pendejo after 1/20/17. Pendejo Trump. Sounds about right.

Add that to the existing list of problematic values for someone who is poised to head the U.S. Department of Labor, which as Mother Jones reports, “exists to ‘foster, promote, and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers,’ as well as to ‘improve working conditions’ and ‘assure work-related benefits and rights.’”

Even before the release of this 2009 interview, Puzder was on record as an opponent of raising the minimum wage. He suggested in 2014 that increasing the minimum wage would hurt low-wage workers. At that time, he was earning 291 times more than minimum-wage employees working for his fast-food chains.

Puzder’s company was also hit with a class-action lawsuit in 2013 for “allegedly failing to pay its general managers overtime, even while requiring them to be on call 24 hours a day,” according to Law 360.

Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich slammed Puzder as “anti-worker” during a CNN panel earlier this month. He pointed to the fact that “The Department of Labor came into his restaurants and found that half his restaurants had wage and labor violations that violated the law of the United States.”

Via Raw Story.