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Poultry Workers in Diapers as Bathroom Breaks Denied, Oxfam Says
- collyw 10y agoWhat a fucked up world we are creating. Developed countries seem to be going backwards.
- DamnYuppie 10y agoIt seems most companies are hell bent on lowering wages and conditions to the lowest possible denominator across the world.
- warfangle 10y agoThat's the natural order of unregulated labor-based capitalism.
- aminok 10y agoThis is the natural order of human nature. But it turns out that when you let people profit off of the productive capital they own, they end up investing a significant portion of their income into creating new capital. This process of profit motivated investment leads to an increase in goods/services being generated per capita, and consequently, less need for manual labour, more leisure time, and a higher standard of living, for the masses: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/2016/0207/Progress-in-the-global-war-on-poverty http://www.csmonitor.com/World/2016/0207/Progress-in-the-glo... >Almost unnoticed, the world has reduced poverty, increased incomes, and improved health more than at any time in history. ^ improvements in the standard of living is the natural order of the world and even more so when there is a free market in place, as historical cross-country comparisons show us. These attempts at making edgy anti-capitalism comments, which essentially imply that we should impose authoritarian prohibitions, that abridge the right to private property and engagement in voluntary market transaction, are embarrassing.
- dv_dt 10y agoI think this is going too far in taking the criticism of an edge failure of capitalism as an attempt for wholesale elimination of capitalism.
- roywiggins 10y agoIt's the natural order of regulated capitalism, the regulations just enforce a floor. The incentive to get as low as possible is still there- companies will push edge cases that aren't regulated until someone notices and builds a floor under that, too. I should say, it's the natural order of regulated capitalism in the absence of strong unions. If you have unions they can push back against crappy working conditions on their own, with only nominal government backing (ie laws that encourage and legitimize unions).
- nefitty 10y agoI shouldn't have read this as I was eating. Anyways, this is another example of why I switched to a vegetarian diet. I am having a hard time wrapping my brain around the idea that there are people handling food products while defecating in an adult diaper. If they can't get bathroom breaks, that means they have to wear that dirty diaper until they are allowed to leave the line. I don't know what interest Oxfam would have in pushing false allegations about the poultry industry, so this should be taken very seriously by these companies. They need to look at managers' and team leaders' incentives around time limits, etc. If a team leader is being motivated by a strict quota, if they are enough of a sociopath it could lead to terrible working conditions to those immediately below them.
- pweissbrod 10y agoI share your vegetarian beliefs but such labor practices can easy reach beyond poultry, beyond agriculture and into mass production of many different markets. Poultry (also fish) is one of the sketchier markets of produce industry, but to me this illustrates more widespread view of what we consider acceptable treatment of low-skill labor workers.
- ctrlalt_g 10y agoI'm not sure that being a vegetarian protects you from the effects of poor working conditions in American factories. As long as there is widespread exploitation of undocumented or otherwise vulnerable workers, I think conditions like these will continue to be fairly common.
- zer00eyz 10y agoLots of reasons to be a vegetarian, or just eat a lot less meat. This is one from a moral standpoint. From a heath standpoint that might not be the case: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/cms_ia/importalert_1148.html http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/cms_ia/importalert_1148.html "Conditions observed at multiple such firms in the state of Puebla included human feces and toilet paper found in growing fields and around facilities;" Edit: remember folks, wash your veggies!
- vinhboy 10y agoMaybe this is an indication of how out of touch I am, but I don't see why there is a push to lower the cost of chicken meat. It is already super cheap. You can get a whole rotisserie chicken at Safeway for $5 or less. That's a whole damn chicken, and the labor of someone cooking it for you! Unless you're eating a ridiculous amount of chicken at every meal, which you probably shouldn't, the cost of chicken could be higher if it means better working conditions and humane treatment of the animal.
- manachar 10y agoHave you found any commodity where there isn't a push to lower the cost? That's pretty much what capitalism does.
- harigov 10y agoGiven that capitalism is a balancing act, I wish there is a drive towards incorporating externalities like employee happiness, safety, environmental friendliness, etc., on to the products by introducing some sort of ratings and making sure that all the products include that.
- mikeyouse 10y agoWhole Foods provides ratings on its meat[1] -- but instead of $5 for an entire chicken from Safeway, it's more like $7/lb for boneless/skinless breasts at Whole Foods. It turns out that social responsibility is expensive. [1] - https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/mission-values/animal-welfare/animal-welfare-basics https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/mission-values/animal-welfa...
- Retric 10y agoCollage tuition or CEO pay? CD's are older, but used to fit.
- DKnoll 10y agoNone of those 3 examples are commodities.
- ksenzee 10y agoOxfam press release: https://www.oxfamamerica.org/press/poultry-industry-routinely-denies-adequate-bathroom-breaks-to-workers-on-the-line-endangering-health-and-dignity/ https://www.oxfamamerica.org/press/poultry-industry-routinel... Oxfam report (PDF): https://www.oxfamamerica.org/static/media/files/No_Relief.pdf https://www.oxfamamerica.org/static/media/files/No_Relief.pd...
- bramen 10y agoOh good, people defecating themselves while handling the poultry that ends up on our dinner tables. But I guess it's worth it to maximize those corporate agriculture profits. Maybe with all this money we're saving on chicken I can buy some antibiotics.
- jsprogrammer 10y agoI think consumers and workers will begin to demand additional evidence of not bad (hopefully, good) conditions. I want to be able to see my product from beginning to end. Every moment of the product's life, from raw materials to reception, should be captured on video and I should be able to review the video before purchase.
- neurobuddha 10y agoThis story was charging up the front page and then all the sudden it's near the bottom of page two. What's up with that?
- reustle 10y agoMaybe someone influential down voted it? I'm not sure how the algorithm works, I think most people don't, but I use sites like "hckrnews" to just sort by time, so you never have that issue.
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- cpeterso 10y agoIf you are interested in reading more about the food industry, I highly recommend Eric Schlosser's book "Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_Food_Nation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_Food_Nation
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- nxzero 10y agoUntil people are willing to pay more for the products and services they receive, complaining about the working conditions of workers is a bit of a paradox to me.
- orasis 10y agoThe solution is simple. Stop buying this crap. Know your farmer and buy your meat directly from the source.
- CaptSpify 10y agoCan't tell if sarcasm or not....
- orasis 10y agoI am absolutely serious and entertained by the fact my comment was down voted. Spend any time around agriculture and you will realize that the cheapest super market meat is raised completely unethically. To have a clear conscious 90% of my protein comes from farms and hunters I know directly. Dairy is still the tricky one I'm trying to figure out.
- bko 10y agoThe article doesn't say but I imagine many of these workers are pushing up against the minimum wage. If the minimum wage is above the market wage for unskilled labor, other dignities are denied to the workers. There is plenty of non-monetary compensation workers enjoy, including free coffee, generous vacation, and yes bathroom breaks. When employers are forced to pay more that the market wage in monetary terms, they compensate by removing other benefits.
- mywittyname 10y agoIf the company could get away with paying their workers $1/day, the would do it and still make them wear diapers. Unions are good at solving these kind of problems.
- PascalsMugger 10y agoBathroom breaks are not a form of compensation any more than than breathable air is a form of compensation. They are bare necessitates of life. That kind of thinking is what leads to this kind of dystopian shit.
- Overtonwindow 10y agoAnother issue that was in the media recently is the increased exposure to pesticides and harmful chemicals used in agriculture. I've heard that if most people saw how their food was made they wouldn't eat it anymore.
- velox_io 10y agoI used to work in food factories while at college, it was good money (over double the minimum wage), but this is over 15 years ago.. I remember one line manager having a go at us, and blaming us for holding up the production line, he wanted us to be back on the line within the hour. When it takes 15mins to get around the factory floor and change. Since then the work force has switched to Eastern Europeans (many Portuguese were coming over to work when I left), it really depends on who are the poorest counties in the EU. Now the pay IS the minimum wage (it would lower if it wasn't a legal requirement). It's a shame we have this race to the bottom, with so many willing to compete. It does feel like some sectors are moving back to the Victorian era, where a persons quality of means very little (even animals have these standards). All some employers care about is that staff don't get maimed, only because of the expensive legal settlements and risk of shutting down factories.
- xlm1717 10y agoThis seems like something that should be fined heavily by the FDA. Definitely does not seem sanitary in the least.