[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 168 (Wednesday, October 23, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6087-S6088]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     CONFIRMATION OF EUGENE SCALIA

  Mr. BOOKER. Mr. President, I want to express my disapproval of the 
confirmation of Eugene Scalia as Secretary of Labor. America's workers 
are the backbone of our economy, and the Secretary of Labor should be 
entrusted to strengthen worker protections, support unions, and play a 
crucial role in ensuring a just economy. Instead, Eugene Scalia has 
repeatedly demonstrated that he prioritizes the well-being of corporate 
interests over those of workers. Throughout his career as a corporate 
lawyer, he fought against unions, worker safety regulations, and 
consumer protections rules. For those reasons, I do not believe Eugene 
Scalia is fit to serve as Secretary of Labor.
  My grandfather was one of the first Black members of United Auto 
Workers at Ford Motor Company, and through him, I learned the 
importance of worker rights that collective bargaining provides. 
Through collective action, unions are able to provide workers with 
livable wages, safe working conditions, and access to benefits like 
healthcare coverage and retirement savings. Not only has Eugene Scalia 
represented companies in arbitrations against collective bargaining 
agreements, but he identifies it as one of his most significant career 
moments. The Secretary of Labor should be doing everything in their 
power to make it easier--not harder--for working people to join unions.
  Eugene Scalia also represented the Chamber of Commerce in working to 
overturn the fiduciary rule, a commonsense step towards protecting the 
retirement security of countless working families. Employers trying to 
design a quality plan for their workers, workers starting to save, and 
retirees trying to avoid spending down their nest egg too quickly 
deserve access to quality advice, without fear that financial bias is

[[Page S6088]]

clouding their broker's judgment. Unfortunately, that access to 
quality, unbiased advice was ultimately overturned, in part thanks to 
the efforts of Eugene Scalia.
  More Federal oversight and stricter safeguards are necessary to 
prevent the exploitation and discrimination of working people; yet 
Eugene Scalia has dedicated his career to fighting against the existing 
safeguards. He argued that more than 30 women alleging sexual 
harassment and retaliation should have their claims thrown out, 
defended a company that refused to hire a woman because she had 
dreadlocks, and fought against corporate whistleblowers. He has also 
worked to undermine the rights and protections provided by the 
Americans with Disabilities Act, stating that workers with disabilities 
should not be provided workplace accommodations.
  When I go back to my home in Newark, I see many working families 
struggling to make ends meet, sometimes while working two to three 
jobs. They often face underemployment, wage stagnation, wage theft, and 
a variety of other tactics meant to keep wages down and suppress worker 
rights. They deserve a Secretary of Labor that will fight for them. The 
Trump administration and the previous Secretary of Labor have been 
relentless in their efforts to roll back workers' rights, attack 
unions, and undermine civil liberties. Unfortunately, I do not have any 
reason to believe that Secretary Scalia will be any different. This is 
why I must express my deep concern and opposition to his nomination and 
confirmation as Secretary of Labor.

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