LEXINGTON — The archbishop of Louisville and bishops in Lexington and Owensboro joined other religious leaders in asking Labor Secretary Elaine Chao to protect chicken processing workers from alleged industry abuses.

        More than 150 religious leaders across the nation signed a letter delivered to Ms. Chao last week that said she is listening to chicken industry officials over concerns from workers and urged her to “see that justice is done.”

        Ms. Chao met with industry leaders in April, following the January release of a report by the U.S. Department of Labor that accused chicken-processing companies of widespread violations of federal wage laws.

        The report, produced under the Clinton administration, said 51 of the 174 chicken plants in the country were randomly targeted for inspections last year and all those were found to have cheated workers on pay.

        Currently, one of Kentucky's plants, Cagle's-Keystone Foods in Clinton County, is under investigation by state labor officials for compliance with laws concerning child labor and wages.

        One point of contention nationally is the time workers spend putting on and taking off mandatory safety equipment and waiting for conveyor lines to be cleaned. Workers contend they should be paid for that time and the Labor Department agreed. The companies say they shouldn't pay.

        A group of U.S. senators — Kentucky's Jim Bunning among them — sent Ms. Chao a letter in March, urging her to meet with chicken industry officials before issuing a ruling on sanctions. The letter accused the Labor Department of dealing unfairly with chicken companies by changing the rules about billable time “without benefit of proper notice.”

        Worker advocates, worried that their side was not being heard, asked the bishops to send their own letter.

        Scott Wegenast, a representative of the Kentucky bishops, said it was intended to “pressure” Ms. Chao to maintain the existing standards. Roman Catholic Archbishop Thomas C. Kelly of Louisville, and Bishops J. Kendrick Williams of Lexington and John J. McRaith of Owensboro signed it. Bishop Robert W. Muench of Covington did not.

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