Chao Down (ShameOnElaine.org)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.afscmeblog.org/category/workers-rights/

February 14th, 2008

American Rights at Work launched a groundbreaking campaign this week exposing Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao’s dismal record through ShameOnElaine.org.



Unlike her cohorts in the Bush administration, Elaine Chao has escaped much-needed public scrutiny of her time on the job. From littering the Labor Department with individuals with blatant corporate agendas to dismantling worker safety protections and collaborating with her husband, Sen. Mitch McConnell, Elaine has disgraced her role as Secretary of Labor.

You’ll be outraged over what Elaine’s been up to instead of serving America’s workers:

* Hired a former colleague from the Heritage Foundation who actually wrote a report titled “How to Close Down the Department of Labor.”
* Cut over 100 inspectors at MSHA and, as a result, hundreds of mines weren’t inspected and tragedies such as Sago and Crandall Canyon might have been prevented.
* Had Chao-themed coins, lanyards, and fleece blankets printed at taxpayer expense.
* Failed to issue a rule requiring employers to pay for their workers’ safety gear — contributing to 400,000 workers injured and 50 dead.
* Had an auditorium named in her honor — thanks to her husband’s $14.2 million earmark to enhance the Mitch McConnell Center at his alma mater, the University of Louisville. Of course, Elaine never attended the university.

As The Nation points out, all of this was paid for by American workers.

Take a look for yourself at ShameOnElaine.org for plenty more examples of Elaine’s failures as Secretary of Labor, and please join the effort to restore the Department of Labor as an agency run on behalf of America’s workers.

[onbudsman]

1. nice lady

How Safe Is Your Job?


You could lose your job to a foreign worker—not because he’s cheaper but because he has better workplace skills and discipline. That’s the message Labor Secretary Elaine Chao hears from U.S. executives who are worried about America’s competitive future. While losses are low thus far—one study estimates that only 280,000 jobs in the service industry out of 115 million are outsourced each year—that could change. Beyond the cheaper cost of labor, U.S. employers say that many workers abroad simply have a better attitude toward work. “American employees must be punctual, dress appropriately and have good personal hygiene,” says Chao. “They need anger-management and conflict-resolution skills, and they have to be able to accept direction. Too many young people bristle when a supervisor asks them to do something.”

(ummm, speaking of attitudes toward your boss, may I remind you, Ms. Chao, that you work for the American taxpayer, ie, American employees)

http://www.parade.com/articles/editions/2007/edition_07-01-2007/Intelligence_Report