IFA Statement On Expected Nomination of Andy Puzder For Secretary of Labor

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Contact:

Jenna Weisbord, 310-995-0839

jweisbord@franchise.org

@franchising411


IFA STATEMENT ON EXPECTED NOMINATION OF ANDY PUZDER FOR SECRETARY OF LABOR


WASHINGTON, Dec. 8—International Franchise Association President & CEO Robert Cresanti released the following statement in response to President-elect Donald Trump’s expected nomination of Andy Puzder, Chief Executive of CKE Restaurants, which owns Hardees’, Carl’s Jr., Green Burrito and Red Burrito restaurant brands a franchise system with 3,750 franchised or company-operated restaurants in 44 states and 40 foreign countries and U.S. locations, and member of the IFA Board of Directors, to serve as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor.  


“Andy would be an exceptional choice to lead the Labor Department and we applaud President-elect Trump for recognizing Andy’s business experience and policy acumen on so many issues impacting employers and employees in today’s economy.  


“Voters elected a job creator as President, it is only fitting that the Labor Department, the agency responsible for ensuring the nation’s labor policy is properly balanced, should be led by someone with a proven track record for creating jobs, growing a business and opening a pathway for people to create a successful career and even business ownership.


“As CEO of a franchise company, Puzder has seen firsthand the impact of regulations promulgated by President Obama, Secretary Perez and Wage & Hour Administrator David Weil.  This perspective gives him a different set of qualifications than the typical Washington insider. We are hopeful that, if confirmed by the Senate, a top priority will be rolling back the damaging effects caused by the expansion of joint employer liability to America’s 733,000 franchise businesses, and the too-far, too-fast increase in the overtime threshold that was recently put on hold by a Texas judge.”


At the same time, Puzder will 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. 


Below is information about Andy Puzder on Key Issues: 


Automation


No, Puzder doesn’t intend to ‘take humans out of the fast food equation,’ as Fortune had it. His remark about machines being so pliable was part of a longer exchange about the upsides and downsides of automation, the second part of which didn’t get reported.


“I never mentioned robots… 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.”



The Economic Cost of Regulation


“Our system lacks any meaningful mechanism for tracking the cost of regulations as a whole and balancing that against the need for businesses to use their profits to expand, grow, and thereby create jobs and prosperity.  Regulations are a kind of tax.”


“Just as taxes are necessary to raise the revenue government needs, so regulation is necessary to accomplish important goals the market will not accomplish on its own.  But economic growth is also important both to individuals and government.  Nonetheless, while most government officials recognize that raising taxes has a dampening effect on economic growth, there seems to be no similar acknowledgement with respect to the impact of regulatory costs…”


  • Testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee – February 16, 2012


Increasing Wages


“Here’s the reality: Wages and incomes for workers are stagnant because there aren’t enough jobs. It’s a matter of supply and demand. When jobs are scarce and people are unemployed, wages and benefits decline. When the job market is strong and businesses must compete for employees, wages and benefits improve. The solution, then, is more jobs. This isn’t rocket science.”



“(At CKE) people don’t make minimum wage for a very long period of time.  If you’re going to stay and show you have value, then your wage is going to go up… I don’t think anybody plans to have a workforce of minimum-wage employees. That’s not the way it works. There’s nothing wrong with rational increases in the minimum wage that don’t kill jobs.”



Overtime Rules


“This new rule will simply add to the extensive regulatory maze the Obama Administration has imposed on employers, forcing many to offset increased labor expense by cutting costs elsewhere. In practice, this means reduced opportunities, bonuses, benefits, perks and promotions.”


“Perhaps the biggest consequence of the [overtime] rule is that it will cause some employers to reclassify salaried employees as hourly, and set schedules so they can more easily track hours worked and avoid excessive claims for overtime.”


“Most employers incentivize their managers to run the businesses they manage like they own them with salaries and incentive compensation including performance-based bonuses rather than overtime pay. Owners set their own hours and work the hours necessary using their best business judgment rather than a schedule set by a superior. For many beginning managers, this new rule will reduce or eliminate that flexibility and the bonus potential associated with good performance.”


“Turning highly sought-after entry level management careers into hourly jobs where employees punch a clock and are compensated for time spent rather than time well spent is hardly an improvement on the path from the working class to the middle class.”



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About the International Franchise Association

Celebrating 56 years of excellence, education and advocacy, the International Franchise Association is the world’s oldest and largest organization representing franchising worldwide. IFA works through its government relations and public policy, media relations and educational programs to protect, enhance and promote franchising and the more than 733,000 franchise establishments that support nearly 7.6 million direct jobs, $674.3 billion of economic output for the U.S. economy and 2.5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). IFA members include franchise companies in over 300 different business format categories, individual franchisees and companies that support the industry in marketing, law, technology and business development.


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Phone: +1 202/628-8000    Fax: +1 202/628-0812     www.franchise.org

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