Our Senior Senator's Wife: from the national news button

Labor Secretary Says American Workers Are Stinky
from DNC - Labor

Elaine Chao, Senator Mitch McConnell's wife, Secretary of Labor in the Bush administration, told Parade magazine--a national weekly read by millions of Americans--that the nation’s workers need a bath if they want to keep their jobs. From the AFL-CIO:

Chao told Parade it’s not just the low-cost of foreign labor that is enticing many U.S. employers to ship jobs overseas—overseas workers dress and bathe better.

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.

In 2004, Chao’s Labor Department changed the rules on overtime pay, making millions of workers ineligible. This year, she tried to outsource around 250 Department of Labor jobs.

Members of AFGE Local 12 passed out bars of soap at Department of Labor headquarters in Washington, DC today. The soap says, "Chao Thinks You Stink."