Gross, but not nearly surprising enough: According to a report from Oxfam, workers in U.S. poultry processing plants are frequently denied bathroom breaks to the point of being forced to wear adult diapers while they work. On food you will eat.
The report cited unnamed workers from Tyson Foods Inc., Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., Perdue Farms Inc. and Sanderson Farms Inc. who said that supervisors mock them, ignore requests and threaten punishment or firing. When they can go, they wait in long lines even though they are given limited time, sometimes 10 minutes, according to the report. Some workers have urinated or defecated themselves while working because they can’t hold on any longer, the report said. Some workers “restrict intake of liquids and fluids to dangerous degrees,” Oxfam said. [...]
The conditions present difficulties, especially for menstruating or pregnant women, according to the latest report. Workers could also face medical problems, including urinary tract infections, and managers have told some workers to eat and drink less to avoid going to the bathroom, according to the report.
Naturally the companies in question deny this and say their workers get enough breaks and are allowed to go to the bathroom between breaks. But who do you trust more? High-level corporate flacks guarding the company image, or workers on the production line?
A fair day’s wage
● Missouri Republicans failed to override Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of an anti-union law. The law would have targeted public employee unions except for first responders like police and fire fighters, in case you were wondering how nakedly political it was.
● Class shock and adjunct professors.
● The privilege of buying in bulk.
● Another reminder of how presidential administrations matter:
Starting in January, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will require employers to notify the government within 24 hours every time someone loses an eye, suffers an amputation, or gets admitted to the hospital with an injury sustained at work. The agency estimates that tens of thousands of injuries go unreported. “Workplace injuries and fatalities are absolutely preventable,” Labor Secretary Thomas Perez said in early September. “These new requirements will help OSHA focus its resources and hold employers accountable for preventing them.”
The rule replaces regulations that require companies to report only incidents that result in three or more hospitalizations—“catastrophes,” in agency parlance. (Workplace deaths will still have to be reported within 8 hours.) OSHA head David Michaels, an assistant secretary in the Department of Labor, announced on Sept. 11 that the injury data will be made public on OSHA’s website.
● The Illinois Senate passed a bill raising the minimum wage for home health care workers to $15. The bill now goes to the state House.
Education
● The hedge funders backing charter schools are now turning their millions to buying school board seats to keep on expanding charters.