NEWARK — Hours before Andrew Puzder officially withdrew as President Trump’s labor secretary nominee, workers and union leaders marched in Newark on Wednesday to demand Senators reject his confirmation.
“It would be disastrous for working people in this country,” said Kevin Brown, vice president of the SEIU 32BJ labor union and the state’s director. “Trump promised to help average working families and he picked the exact opposite, antithetical person.”
An email to Puzder’s spokesperson was not immediately returned. Puzder, fast-food executive, told the Associated Press in a statement he was “honored to have been considered by President Donald Trump to lead the Department of Labor and put America’s workers and businesses back on a path to sustainable prosperity.”
Puzder had faced increasing pressure from Republicans over his hiring of an undocumented worker.
Brown said he was glad Puzder was no longer in the running for such a critical post. His confirmation hearing was scheduled for Thursday morning.
Earlier in the day, office cleaners, food service workers, airport workers and retail workers gathered outside City Hall and marched down Broad Street, hoping to derail Puzder’s confirmation.
Brown said Puzder opposes raising the minimum wage and would go against the Department of Labor’s core mission.
“It’s there to help workers not to help bosses, Andrew Pudzer is all about the bosses,” he said.
Puzder is the CEO of CKE Restaurants, which owns or franchises fast-food chains Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s. According to Puzder’s website, his company employs more than 75,000.
Both Democratic N.J. Sens. Cory Booker and Robert Menendez previously said they would vote against on Puzder.
The Associated Press contributed.
Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook.
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