New York, Dec 8 (EFE).- President-elect Donald Trump tapped Andy Puzder, the CEO of CKE Restaurants, as the next Labor Department chief, on Thursday.
Trump issued a statement on the nomination in which he said that Puzder “has created and boosted the careers of thousands of Americans” and is an “ideal” candidate with the qualifications to serve as labor secretary.
“He will save small businesses from the crushing burdens of unnecessary regulations that are stunting job growth and suppressing wages,” Trump added.
The statement included comments from Puzder, 66, in which he said that he and the president-elect share the belief that the right labor policies will “result in more jobs and better wages for the American worker.”
The communique notes that Puzder comes from a working-class family in Cleveland, is the son of an automobile salesman and paid for his schooling by doing construction work, gardening and painting houses.
Puzder’s firm runs the Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s and Green Burrito fast food chains, and he has criticized government intervention in the labor market, contending that excessive regulation has dampened the growth of the US restaurant industry.
He also opposes raising the federal minimum wage above $9 per hour, while the Democratic Party is pushing for a hike to $15 per hour, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Puzder, who acted as an adviser to Trump during the presidential campaign, met with the president-elect on Wednesday in New York.
Very critical of the Barack Obama administration, Puzder said that assorted regulations pushed by the current government have curtailed growth and job creation.
CKE Restaurants operates more than 3,300 restaurants and employs some 75,000 people in 28 countries.
The CKE chief has written op-ed pieces in The Wall Street Journal and elsewhere in which, among other things, he has expressed his opposition to Obama’s health care reform and minimum wage hikes.
Puzder – who must be confirmed as labor secretary by the Senate – in 2014 said that he did not think that any restaurant could operate at a profit if it had to pay its workers a minimum of $15 per hour.