Union-backed groups, including the Fight for $15 movement, are deploying dishonest tactics, flawed surveys and paid protesters in an attempt to smear President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for labor secretary, according to a recent report.
Labor groups and activists are engaged in a full-court press against the nomination of Andy Puzder to lead the Department of Labor. Puzder, the CEO of CKE Restaurants, which owns the Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. brands, is a vocal critic of President Barack Obama’s labor policies and the Fight for $15. (RELATED: Trump To Nominate ‘Fight For $15’ Critic For Labor Sec.)
The dishonest tactics employed by those opposed to Trump’s nominee include a flawed survey released by a union-backed group on Jan. 10, according a Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) report released Tuesday.
“Ultimately, the questionable tactics pursued by the Restaurant Opportunities Center and Fight for $15 to smear Puzder show more about them than him,” Trey Kovacs, labor policy expert at CEI, asserted. “Labor unions and the like should get used to proving their merit to workers rather than relying on intimidation and coercive tactics,” he continued.
The union-backed Restaurant Opportunities Center (ROC) released a survey of Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. employees, claiming that two-thirds of women in the survey said that they had been sexually harassed on the job.
According to FiveThirtyEight, the group used a deeply inaccurate method to survey employees. The group sought out CKE Restaurant workers on social media to participate in their survey, according to FiveThirtyEight. The group communicated with 900 employees, and said it successfully interviewed 564 about the working conditions inside Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. restaurants.
The problem with the approach, according to the chief methodologist at the Urban Institute, Robert Santos, is that there was no way to effectively determine if the respondents were even human beings. Additionally, according to Santos, it was a self-selected group, where it was likely that workers who have experienced problems were much more likely to respond to the survey.
Additional tactics include reports that individuals have been paid to protest Puzder, with evidence that many of those at recent protests are unaware of who Andy Puzder even is. (RELATED: Fight For $15 Activists Paid Actors To Protest Trump’s Labor Pick)
In a video produced by the conservative research group, America Rising Squared, likely paid protesters do not know who Andy Puzder is, and are unable to explain why they are protesting.
WATCH:
The Fight for $15, backed by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), is wary of Puzder for labor. The fast food magnate has said that a $15 minimum wage would only result in the replacement of low wage workers by automation.
A recent report from CNN suggested that Puzder may remove himself from consideration for the nomination, amid reports that he is growing wary of the intense scrutiny and questionable tactics being employed by his opponents. (RELATED: Trump’s Labor Pick May Drop Out)
Puzder’s confirmation hearing were pushed back until after the inauguration, and will likely take place in early February. Puzder has yet to complete his paperwork, but said on Twitter after reports surfaced that he may drop out, that he “looked forward to his hearing.”
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