When it comes to Donald Trump's Cabinet picks, we need to stop them in committee.  It may be difficult to get the committee members to listen if you're not their constituents but there are cases where it's worth it to try.

In addition to targeting my two Senators, Dean Heller and Catherine Cortez-Masto, on the Cabinet members I'm most troubled by I will be addressing my letters to the Republican Chair and the Democratic Ranking Members.`

The Cabinet member I have the most contempt for, the one I feel the strongest about stopping is one who seems to sneak under the radar when the news media reports on the "Cabinet of Deplorables".

If we can't stop any other nomination, I hope we can stop the nomination of Andrew Puzder as Secretary of Labor. His nomination is the ultimate slap in the face to the Working People Trump pandered to to win the election.

The Committee overseeing this nomination is Chaired by Lamar Alexander of Tennesse with Patty Murray of Washington as Ranking Member. I will be writing to both of them.

However, this Committee is unique in that there are several members who are also worth contacting. On the Democratic side there are several members who have staked their careers on being champions of the working class, some of who have Presidential aspirations, who we need to stand up to this nominee.

Number one is none other than the man himself Senator Bernie Sanders, who I will be addressing as a former delegate. Other Senators I consider myself fans of who I will be writing are Al Franken of Minnesota, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, and of course Elizabeth Warren.

There are also a handful of Republicans on this committee who occasionally give the appearance of being Moderate or Independent and they are worth contacting as well. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Rand Paul of Kentucky..

For this entry I am writing two sets of letters. One addressed to Senator Alexander the Republican, and one addressed to Senator Murray the Democrat. I will tweak these letters as appropriate for the other Senators and will of course contact my Senators Dean Heller and Catherine Cortez Masto.


For a list of Committee Members of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee click here

http://www.help.senate.gov/about/members

This is a crucial committee. They have a hearing scheduled for Education pick Betsy Devos on January 11, and one for Health and Human Services Nominee Tom Price on the 18th.   I will work on a letter for Mr. Price soon,  my opinions on the Secretary of Education need some studying.

On that note if you have your own letters to contribute, please don't hesitate to leave them in the comments. I will happily repost them.  The whole goal of this blog is to be a blueprint for contacting members of Congress.  Encouraging our fellow citizens to take these letters and contact their Representatives, our voices are amplified the more of us who use them.



The Honorable Senator Lamar Alexander
455 Dirksen Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Alexander,

I'm writing to you today out of great concern for the nomination of Andrew Puzder as Secretary of Labor in President-Elect Donald Trump's new cabinet.

Our country is a country of workers. Donald Trump campaigned as a friend of the Working Class, promising to bring back their jobs from overseas, promising to end the competition for jobs with Illegal Immigrants.

Unfortunately, Mr. Puzder, who has no real issue with Illegal Immigration as he prefers his workers to make as low of wage as possible, represents a threat to workers in ways that were not discussed in the campaign..

Mr. Puzder is on record as saying workers are "Overprotected".  He's on the record as being scornful of the idea of mandatory breaks. Something that will infuriate anyone who's ever stood for over 8 hours in a hot kitchen day after day.

His stands against the Minimum Wage and Overtime laws may be mainstream Republican views. I find that unfortunate but I will concede that.  To this point I have not heard traditional Republican viewpoints being in favor of eliminating the workforce in favor of automation.  Perhaps I have missed something and this is where the Party is now.

Mark my words though, when the Working Class wakes up and realizes that President Trump's walls and deportations haven't brought their jobs back, They will realize what the biggest threat to their jobs is and that is automation.

Mr. Puzder talks glowingly about robots and disdainfully about human employees. He states that machines never take vacation, never show up late, and never have discrimination cases.   It seems he disdains his human employees for their need to be.. Human.

I know it's tempting to view this from the point of view of a Businessman and think of the cost savings to businesses who implement Mr. Puzder's ideas.  What you need to realize is the effect this will have on workers.  Namely, we will have significantly less of them.  The less people who are employed, the more we will have in need of Government assistance, and the less people who will be out spending money needed to keep businesses in business.

Dwight Eisenhower's cabinet was referred to as Nine Businessmen and a Plumber.  He was Pro-Business, he appointed a cabinet full of successful Businessmen much the way Donald Trump has.   The difference?  The Plumber was the Secretary of Labor.  Even Eisenhower knew that the Secretary of Labor's job was to protect the Working Man.

Please don't appoint a Fox to run the hen house.

Thank you for your service and your attention to the concerns of the citizens of this country, I hope you will take this letter into consideration.

Sincerely,

Mike Jones


The Honorable Senator Patty Murray
154 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Murray,

I'm writing you out of great concern regarding the nomination of Andrew Puzder as Secretary of Labor.

I have great respect for you and the other Democratic Senators on the HELP Committee who are charged with making sure Donald Trump's nominees receive a thorough hearing and voicing your opposition where appropriate.

I'm proud to be a Democrat because the Democratic Party is the Party of Working People.  If the Democrats on the HELP committee give Mr. Puzder a pass I will consider it nothing short of heartbreaking.

Mr. Puzder's anti-worker views on the minimum wage, overtime rules and multiple other worker protections (which he is on the record as saying there are too many of) make him uniquely unqualified to lead the Department of Labor.

The Department of Labor has historically been in charge of protecting workers from abusive employers. Mr. Puzder is the very definition of an abusive employer.   He is on the record as being scornful of the idea of his workers getting mandatory breaks, he openly pines for the ability to replace his workers with automation.

Donald Trump campaigned as a friend of the working man who wanted to bring back jobs from overseas, or jobs that were taken by illegal immigrants.    We know that was a scam. We need to expose how contemptuous he truly is of the Working Class.   The biggest threat to jobs in this country isn't Illegal Immigration, it's not even Free Trade.  The biggest threat to jobs in this country is automation.   Andrew Puzder wants to accelerate it and while he's doing it he has no interest in protecting the rights of the Workers who remain.

Dwight Eisenhower had a cabinet of "9 Businessmen and a Plumber".  The Plumber was the Secretary of Labor.   Like Eisenhower, Donald Trump has nominated several successful businessmen to his cabinet. Unfortunately unlike Eisenhower Trump doesn't feel like the Working Man deserves one of their own in charge of their protection. He wants the man who wants to eliminate them to run the department.

Please, Don't let the Fox run the Henhouse.

Thank you for your service and your attention to this matter. The citizens of our country appreciate your willingness to hear our voices and I hope you will keep us in mind when Mr. Puzder's name comes up for confirmation

Sincerely,
Mike Jones