Sen. Murray’s Opening Remarks at HELP Hearing on Keith Sonderling’s Nomination to be Secretary of Labor

*** WATCH : Senator Murray’s full opening remarks*** Washington, D.C. — Today—at a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) hearing to consider Keith Sonderling’s nomination to be Secretary of Labor—U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), delivered the following opening remarks on the Department of Labor’s mission to support and protect workers, and how Sonderling’s record at the Department of Labor makes him grossly unqualified for the job. Senator Murray’s remarks, as delivered, are below: “Thank you, Chair Cassidy. Thank you Acting Secretary Sonderling for being here today. “I am going to be straight where I stand here. The Department of Labor has a straightforward mission. It is right there in the name—it’s not called the Department of big business and billionaires. It is called the Department of Labor. DOL exists to protect the people who do the work in this country. It exists to make sure an honest day’s work means a fair wage, a safe workplace, and a voice on the job. “That mission is more important than ever since this President and this Republican Congress decided that their policy priorities would be trillions in deficit-busting tax cuts for billionaires and giant corporations, and starting new wars in the Middle East. That agenda has worked for the very richest and for defense contractors. Elon Musk became a trillionaire! “But the basics? Groceries, health care, gas? All of that has gotten more and more expensive for regular working people. All while millions of Americans lose their health care, inflation is sky-high, and there is no end in sight to Trump’s costly war. “That’s the state of our economy for working families thanks to this President—that’s the reality for everyone who doesn’t get a tax write-off for their private jet. “So, now you are here, asking this committee for a promotion since your predecessor apparently created such a hostile and scandal plagued work environment, she was pushed out. But let’s clear: you are not a bystander to this administration’s anti-worker policies and agenda. “You were confirmed as Deputy Secretary in March of last year. You have run it as Acting Secretary since April. I just talked about the harm this Republican majority has done to our economy—but you’ve built your own anti-worker record at DOL. You rescinded the overtime rule in May—slamming the door on time-and-a-half pay for more than 4 million workers who already aren’t making much to begin with. “At the same time, you’re working to rescind the independent contractor rule. You want to let giant corporations classify workers as contractors so that they don’t have to pay them minimum wage and overtime—a conservative estimate finds this rule would rob workers of $3.7 billion a year—that is an outright grift. You are also pushing a joint-employer rule to let giant corporations take advantage of employment structures, so they aren’t liable when people like janitors or nurses get a paycheck stolen, or when there are child labor violations or other workers’ rights violations. “But here is what every worker watching needs to understand: this Department treats its own employees exactly the way it is letting the worst employers treat theirs. “For example, Trump’s Department of Labor fired ninety percent of the office that worked to protect workers from discrimination by federal contractors since 1965! And when they did that, they ignored the four months’ notice its own union contract required. The Department of Labor—violating a labor contract. You can’t make that up! “Then, this Department of Labor stood by while this administration stripped collective bargaining rights from more than a million federal workers. And you actually helped this administration pressure the federal agency that helps protects our civil servants! And when the Bureau of Labor Statistics did its job and reported honest employment numbers the President didn’t like, its commissioner—was fired with no cause. “Who should workers call when this administration has been nothing short of outright hostile toward workers—in its policies and towards its own employees? “I don’t even have time to really get into how you have undercut this agency’s capacity to crack down on wage theft and child labor violations. But needless to say, it will not be easy to rebuild what you broke. “Finally, I have to raise something I never imagined addressing at a hearing for a Secretary of Labor. In January, this Department’s official account posted a video captioned: ‘One Homeland. One People. One Heritage. Remember who you are, American.’ Historians immediately recognized the echo of the Nazi slogan: ‘one people, one realm, one leader.’ Nobody had to really squint to make that connection. Union leaders condemned that. Your own career employees called it disturbing. “And that was not a one off. It has been a pattern. Under your leadership, this Department posts constant propaganda about ‘Americanism,’ you decry ‘globalism,’ and make misleading comments about ‘native-born’ workers. It is so apparent this Department is posting this kind of garbage as a wink and a nod to extremists and to get a rise out of everyone else who is paying attention. “But you need to hear it from somebody: this kind of language and imagery is a disgrace. “Mr. Sonderling, Frances Perkins—the woman who we can thank for the minimum wage, for the forty-hour work week, for Social Security—she built this Department to stop employers with records like yours. “So, I’ll close with this: the four million workers whose overtime you shut the door on didn’t get a vote on that policy. “But I have a vote here in the Senate. And I fear any vote to confirm you is for more of the same: to strip overtime protections for our workers, to undercut our unions, and to let giant corporations get away with robbery—literally. “America does need a Labor Secretary who understands our workers who should not be denied overtime pay, who will prosecute wage theft and child labor violations, who believes we should increase the minimum wage, who understands America is way overdue for a national paid leave program, and who will stand up every minute for every worker’s right to form a union. “That’s just where I stand.” ###