It was a major victory for workers when fast food CEO Andy Puzder was forced to withdraw his nomination to be Secretary of Labor under massive public pressure.
Then the same day Puzder dropped out, Alexander Acosta was nominated for the job.
If you were in the Senate, would you vote to confirm Acosta? Would you vote no? Or would you take a different path forward?
Before his current role as dean of Florida International University’s law school, Acosta worked as an Assistant US Attorney and then at the National Labor Relations Board under President George W. Bush.
While Acosta’s resumé is certainly less outrageous than Puzder’s, he was not very forthcoming at his confirmation hearings. He refused to take a clear public position on overtime rules, health & safety regulations, or much of anything else.
Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts told Acosta that “If you can’t give me straight answers on your views on this and commit to stand up for workers on these obvious and very important issues then I don’t have any confidence you’re the right person for this job.”
Washington’s own Senator Patty Murray argued that “despite President Trump’s first truly disastrous choice, we cannot lower our standards as we evaluate other nominees.”
But what do you think? If you were a Senator, how would you vote?
Let us know, we’ll tally up the votes and make sure our members of Congress know where workers stand.