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Hardee's CEO tapped as labor secretary: What's in it for restaurant biz?

Where the nation and the restaurant industry labor force are concerned, Andy Puzder is quite vocal in his pro-automation and anti-regulation views. These views are aligned with those of President-elect Donald Trump, who, according to CNN, has named the CKE Restaurants CEO as the nation's new secretary of labor.

December 8, 2016

Where the nation and the restaurant industry labor force are concerned, Andy Puzder is quite vocal in his pro-automation and anti-regulation views. These views are aligned with those of President-elect Donald Trump, who, according to CNN, has named the CKE Restaurants CEO as the nation's new secretary of labor. Although the Trump team hasn't officially verified the appointment, many in the restaurant industry support the choice. 

"Having anyone with practical and real-life experience in our business is of great value to all members of the hospitality industry, including the millions of employees who make the industry work every day," Firehouse Subs CEO Don Fox said in an interview.

Matt Andrew, founder and CEO of Uncle Maddio’s Pizza, called it a huge win for the industry.

"Andy understands the issues and challenges businesses and the restaurant industry, in particular, face," he said in an interview. "His insight and experience make him a great choice to lead and stimulate our growth."

"Nothing is official yet, but if it ends up being Andy Puzder that would obviously be great not only for the restaurant industry but for all American industries. He’s got a history of revitalizing businesses and knows what companies need to grow and create jobs," said Leslie Shedd, vice president of communications for the National Restaurant Association.

Not everyone agrees, however.

"Andy Puzder wants nothing more than to cut jobs, wages and benefits," Wade Henderson, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said in a published statement. "When he’s not defending himself from lawsuits from his employees, he’s advocating for replacing them with robots.

"This man is an opponent of jobs that make America great and put food on the table. He opposes fair wages, he opposes overtime pay, he opposes sick days and he opposes health care benefits — all of which have a great impact on working class families, communities of color and women." 

A few facts about Puzder: He is an outspoken conservative when it comes to labor regulation, regularly contributing editorials to business publications, including the Wall Street Journal. His views echo those of the pro-business, anti-regulation right, whose views have been a running theme in Trump's cabinet appointments and many of his actions. 

Puzder was criticized earlier this year after expressing opinions that many interpreted as foreshadowing a move by the fast food magnate toward robotic manpower in his restaurants. Puzder later explained to the Los Angeles Times that, although he is in favor of automating many of the duties performed by workers at his chains, he does not intend to replace human beings with machines across the board. 

"I never even mentioned robots," Puzder told the Times in a March 30 interview in which he said that he believes government regulations raise business costs. This makes automation "a more viable option for business," he said.

However, he said in the interview that, "We could never take out all the front-line employees. … You have to have people behind the counter because [customers] are used to that and people are more comfortable with it." 

He also said he is a fan of using touch screens in locations near colleges or other youth-centric areas because millennials are comfortable with the technology. 

"You can't stop the process," he said. 

Puzder has spoken out against the Affordable Care Act, proposed increases in the minimum wage, and recent — but now suspended — changes to rules for overtime pay. He said he sees all of these actions of the Obama administration as harmful to the restaurant business in general, and that he believes workers at his chains are paid what they're worth at an average of about $10 an hour.

For proponents of labor, worker's rights and progressive thought, his appointment was anything but welcome. In fact, even before the  announcement Thursday afternoon, the internet was buzzing with criticism of his labor practices.

"When the Department of Labor conducted an investigation of fast food restaurants, more than half of Puzder’s restaurants in the study were in violation of labor laws," Henderson's statement said. "This man is clearly unqualified to enforce these same laws. You can be pro-business without being anti-worker. With this nomination, President-elect Trump is making clear that he doesn’t understand that difference."

Anna Galland, executive director for the liberal organization MoveOn.org, put her feelings about the appointment this way: "So much for draining the swamp."

Slapfish Restaurant Group CEO Andrew Gruel was a little more diplomatic in his response.

"It's always been my policy to keep the business out of politics as much as possible, so I would have to refrain from adding comment here," he said. "I will add this: At Slapfish our team members are our biggest assets. We pay above average wage and salary and provide as much as we can for our team members outside of monetary compensation, as well."