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For Immediate Release
Contact:

Fiona McCarthy, fiona@patrioticmillionaires.org, 202-446-0489

Morris Pearl: Confirmation of Eugene Scalia as Labor Secretary an "Absolute Betrayal to the American Worker"

"Scalia will undoubtedly be yet another stooge for rich and powerful interests at the very agency designed to curb that influence."

WASHINGTON

Today, the Senate voted along party lines to confirm Eugene Scalia, a corporate lawyer, to be the next Secretary of Labor. In response, Morris Pearl, former managing director at Blackrock, Inc., and Chair of the Patriotic Millionaires, issued the following statement:

"At every turn, Eugene Scalia has proven himself to be on the side of big corporations and Wall Street. He has never advocated for the workers who struggle for basic rights or for the millions of Americans decimated by the 2008 financial crisis. But as Secretary of Labor, he will be charged with representing those same interests he's spent nearly two decades ripping apart. The only people he's been interested in protecting are those who can pay a pretty penny for his services.

For too long, our political system has prioritized the interests of the wealthy at the expense of regular, hardworking Americans. Scalia will undoubtedly be yet another stooge for rich and powerful interests at the very agency designed to curb that influence. Senate Republicans' decision to confirm him is an absolute betrayal to the American worker."

The Patriotic Millionaires is a group of high-net worth Americans who share a profound concern about the destabilizing level of inequality in America. Our work centers on the two things that matter most in a capitalist democracy: power and money. Our goal is to ensure that the country's political economy is structured to meet the needs of regular Americans, rather than just millionaires. We focus on three "first" principles: a highly progressive tax system, a livable minimum wage, and equal political representation for all citizens.

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