Kelly Ayotte’s oversight failures blamed for child labor abuses at Blackstone-backed company

Republican gubernatorial candidate Kelly Ayotte is facing renewed attention for her role on the board of directors of Blackstone, a private equity giant, after a Blackstone-owned company was found to have employed over 100 children as young as 13 years old in violation of US labor laws in February of last year.

Three of the children suffered injuries working at the plant, including one who suffered caustic burns from cleaning chemicals.

Ayotte has served on Blackstone’s audit committee since 2019, a position that made her responsible for legal and regulatory compliance. During that time, Blackstone-owned Packers Sanitation Services Inc. (PSSI) was fined $1.5 million by the US Department of Labor for employing 102 children as young as 13 years old to work hazardous, overnight shifts cleaning meatpacking equipment.

Blackstone officials specifically pinned the negligence on the firm’s compliance and audit functions while Ayotte served on the audit committee.

The incident raises concerns about the level of oversight exercised by Ayotte and the audit committee during her tenure. The crisis triggered a piece by the New York Times Editorial Board titled “The Dangerous Race to Put More Children to Work” .

As a member of the audit committee, Ayotte was tasked with overseeing Blackstone’s compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, including child labor laws. However, in the aftermath of the PSSI scandal, Blackstone officials attributed the violations to shortcomings in the firm’s compliance and audit functions—areas directly overseen by Ayotte’s committee.

The scandal drew condemnation from pension fund managers across the country who invest in Blackstone, including officials from CalPERS and CalSTRS, the largest public pension funds in the United States. New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli called the child labor practices “abhorrent” and demanded an explanation from Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman and Global Head of Private Equity Joe Baratta.

Both Schwarzman and Baratta have donated to Ayotte’s past Senate campaigns.

This incident is not the first time Ayotte has been accused of putting children in harm’s way while leading a large organization.

RELATED: Bipartisan anger over report detailing Kelly Ayotte’s role in creating housing crisis

Ayotte has been accused of having a lack of appropriate oversight during her tenure as New Hampshire Attorney General, when she claimed ignorance over systemic abuse at the Sununu Youth Development Center, despite evidence her office was made aware of abuse while it was happening. 

Terese Bastarache, a Republican Executive Council candidate for District 4 during the primary, accused Ayotte of either being aware of the abuse happening at the facility — which included rape and beatings of residents — or grossly negligent in her duties during her time as AG

This is not the first time Ayotte has faced criticism for her ties to corporations accused of harming American workers. As a member of the board of directors of Caterpillar Inc. from 2017 to 2023, Ayotte earned over $1.6 million while the company offshored 2,014 US jobs to foreign countries, including China and Mexico.

Ayotte also previously voted against legislation that would have ended tax deductions for companies that offshore jobs and provided aid to workers who lost their jobs due to outsourcing.

This comes as Ayotte has faced bipartisan anger for her continued role as a Blackstone board member. She has been accused of being part of the corporate team responsible for driving up housing costs as the nation’s largest corporate landlord.

Critics say her dealings in the private sector demonstrate a pattern of prioritizing corporate interests over the needs of working people. While serving on Blackstone’s board, Ayotte has continued to receive at least $150,000 a year and holds over $2.2 million in stock. 

“Kelly Ayotte left Washington D.C., and embedded herself in the world of corporate interests. Her substantial investments in multinational corporations like Blackstone — one of the key contributors to the housing crisis plaguing communities across our nation — make it clear that corporate Kelly’s interests do not align with those of everyday Granite Staters” Chuck Morse, Ayotte’s primary rival, said in a statement in August.