Oxfam says American poultry workers denied bathroom breaks, forced to wear diapers - Polidicks

[quote]American poultry workers employed by some of the largest producers in the country are regularly denied bathroom breaks, forced to work in unsafe conditions, and even resort to wearing diapers during their shifts, according to a new report from Oxfam America. Workers from some of the largest poultry processors in the United States, including Tyson Foods Inc., Perdue Farms Inc., Sanderson Farms Inc. and Pilgrim’s Pride Corp. spoke to Oxfam on the condition of anonymity and complained of unreasonable working conditions.[/quote] (...) [quote]When workers at these companies are allowed to leave the production line to use the bathroom, they are typically allotted far too little time. One worker reported that bathroom breaks are just 10 minutes long, and returning even one minute late results in a disciplinary point. Other workers reported even shorter breaks that don’t take into account the amount of time that it takes a worker to walk to a bathroom, let alone remove their protective gear and then put it back on before returning to the line. In other situations, workers may only be allowed to use the bathroom on scheduled breaks, when the entire line is shut down. This leads to a situation where more than 100 workers need to use the bathroom at the same time, resulting in very long lines and possibly preventing some workers from actually using the bathroom during that break.[/quote] source: [url]http://www.inquisitr.com/3089297/oxfam-says-american-poultry-workers-denied-bathroom-breaks-forced-to-wear-diapers/[/url] I guess the best question is what happens to these workers once a fully automated/robotic solution takes place; keeping in mind that poultry is unique from the production of cattle/etc in that it can all be produced in a short time frame in the same location. In case you weren't already aware, chickens are one of the few livestock industries that can make vertical integration happen (i.e. egg>chicken breasts in one location). [hd]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdrQwQNoGTI[/hd] trigger warning: chickens dieing

[quote]In other situations, workers may only be allowed to use the bathroom on scheduled breaks, when the entire line is shut down. This leads to a situation where more than 100 workers need to use the bathroom at the same time, resulting in very long lines and possibly preventing some workers from actually using the bathroom during that break.[/quote] Jeeeezus. [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZNA-NZ2kGA[/url]

Deplorable.

And to think people want there to be less regulation for companies when it comes to how they treat their employees.

[QUOTE=The golden;50308271]I hope some heavy legal action is taken here.[/QUOTE] I doubt it. If nobody's done anything about it before, why would they now?

[quote]One worker reported that bathroom breaks are just 10 minutes long, and returning even one minute late results in a disciplinary point.[/quote] Am I missing something here? It shouldn't take you more then three minutes to pop a squat. It's not a coffee break.

[QUOTE=pentium;50308432]Am I missing something here? It shouldn't take you more then three minutes to pop a squat. It's not a coffee break.[/QUOTE] I am guessing we are talking 10 minutes including queues.

And I thought I was miserable when I didn't even get the full 30 mins for lunch.

[QUOTE=The golden;50308271]I hope some heavy legal action is taken here.[/QUOTE] We'll see what the great green god says.

[QUOTE=pentium;50308432]Am I missing something here? It shouldn't take you more then three minutes to pop a squat. It's not a coffee break.[/QUOTE] That's assuming that when you go there's nobody else using the bathroom, and not taking account for walking to and from the bathroom (these facilities can be pretty large), and taking off your helmet/goggles/whatever else and putting it back on

[QUOTE=The golden;50308271]I hope some heavy legal action is taken here.[/QUOTE] Or all the employees lining up to shit on the plant owner's car, that'd be fun too.

[QUOTE=pentium;50308432]Am I missing something here? It shouldn't take you more then three minutes to pop a squat. It's not a coffee break.[/QUOTE] The article says that they have got to get off the protective equipment, walk to the toilet (which likely is not close, facilities get big) and then get changed back into protective equipment again afterwards. Give them 2 minutes to get changed, 2 minutes to walk, 3 minutes to do their business, 2 minutes to walk back and 2 minutes to get changed and you are one minute over. That's not counting the fact women's toilets often have queues too.

[QUOTE=icarusfoundyou;50308076]I guess the best question is what happens to these workers once a fully automated/robotic solution takes place; keeping in mind that poultry is unique from the production of cattle/etc in that it can all be produced in a short time frame in the same location. In case you weren't already aware, chickens are one of the few livestock industries that can make vertical integration happen (i.e. egg>chicken breasts in one location).[/QUOTE] depends on if its even cost efficient to fully automate the process. given that workers are a lot easier to fire and hire depending on (say for instance) seasonal fluctuations they might prefer to just use workers rather than to invest into capital intensive equipment which won't be used half of the time

There has been numerous investigations about working conditions on chicken farms. All action has been blocked by the Big Chicken Farmer Companies.

[QUOTE=carcarcargo;50308316]And to think people want there to be less regulation for companies when it comes to how they treat their employees.[/QUOTE] I can triple guarantee that the vast, vast, vast majority of people who argue for less regulation in industry do not support practices like these. Just because one industry has too little regulation doesn't mean another needs more.

The Poultry Industry seems to treat all their employees like shit. [media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9wHzt6gBgI[/media] (Pardon the plug, but it's a good watch)

[QUOTE=srobins;50308940]I can triple guarantee that the vast, vast, vast majority of people who argue for less regulation in industry do not support practices like these. Just because one industry has too little regulation doesn't mean another needs more.[/QUOTE] It doesn't matter if they vocally support these practices or not. They implicitly support them by wanting less regulation. If this is how companies treat their workers now, how do you think they would treat them with regulations lessened or even removed?

[QUOTE=hoodoo456;50309112]It doesn't matter if they vocally support these practices or not. They implicitly support them by wanting less regulation. If this is how companies treat their workers now, how do you think they would treat them with regulations lessened or even removed?[/QUOTE] "Regulation" isn't a 0 to 10 slider applied globally to all industries that exist within a country.. Someone can be against certain types of regulation while supporting others. You're being dense if you think someone who feels environmental regulations are too strict somehow "implicitly supports" 10 minute bathroom breaks.

[QUOTE=srobins;50309289]"Regulation" isn't a 0 to 10 slider applied globally to all industries that exist within a country.. Someone can be against certain types of regulation while supporting others. You're being dense if you think someone who feels environmental regulations are too strict somehow "implicitly supports" 10 minute bathroom breaks.[/QUOTE] agriculture is literally destroying the oceans. if we don't regulate it's environmental impact, we're fucked.

[QUOTE=pentium;50308432]Am I missing something here? It shouldn't take you more then three minutes to pop a squat. It's not a coffee break.[/QUOTE] I'm guessing the bathrooms and breakrooms are probably on the other side of the factory, probably behind several layers of doors... Plus you have to take off like 3 layers of clothes, gloves, wash (because your hands probably have some form of blood and stool on them), then you can go to the bathroom, followed by doing everything up again and going back to the line

[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;50309347]agriculture is literally destroying the oceans. if we don't regulate it's environmental impact, we're fucked.[/QUOTE] I never suggested otherwise.

[QUOTE=hoodoo456;50309112]It doesn't matter if they vocally support these practices or not. They implicitly support them by wanting less regulation. If this is how companies treat their workers now, how do you think they would treat them with regulations lessened or even removed?[/QUOTE] People arguing for less regulation are often only arguing for less government regulation. Less government regulation is not necessarily worse. In place of government regulation could be, for example, agreements with trade unions (other types of regulation include industry regulation and professional regulation). Years ago I used to work at a chicken processing plant where the union had an agreement with the company. Everyone was supposed to be paid at least the award rate of $25 per hour, and everyone got two 15 minute breaks and a 45 minute break over an 8.5 hour shift. Point is that there are other means of regulation than just government regulation.

You've gotta fight for your right to potty.

I worked in similar conditions for about 2 years. This seems sensationalist to me, but I can only speak about the place that I worked at (Cargill turkey processing). I've no idea what the conditions are like elsewhere. The main problem with bathroom breaks is that the processing line can't be stopped because people need to pee. Every department is dependent on the others to keep running. When somebody leaves to use the restroom, everyone else in that department has to work harder. The area that I worked, there were about 10 people at a time working the conveyor belt, and 10 people doing other smaller odd jobs. Positions were rotated every hour to prevent fatigue, and issues like carpal tunnel syndrome. Whenever somebody leaves, the same amount of work still has to be done, but with fewer people, so only a couple of people were allowed a bathroom break at one time. This rule was often overlooked by managers, so we'd occasionally have up to 4 people leaving at once, and it gets exponentially harder to keep up for every person lost. Whenever we started having trouble, the manager would usually leave his office and help out on the line. We got 2 half-hour breaks per 8-hour workday as well. I never once had a problem with waiting lines in restrooms.

[QUOTE=sb27;50309530]People arguing for less regulation are often only arguing for less government regulation. Less government regulation is not necessarily worse. In place of government regulation could be, for example, agreements with trade unions (other types of regulation include industry regulation and professional regulation). Years ago I used to work at a chicken processing plant where the union had an agreement with the company. Everyone was supposed to be paid at least the award rate of $25 per hour, and everyone got two 15 minute breaks and a 45 minute break over an 8.5 hour shift. Point is that there are other means of regulation than just government regulation.[/QUOTE] But that is still regulation? And Unions need to be backed and supported by law?