US poultry workers denied toilet breaks resort to diapers: Oxfam

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Agence France-Presse

US poultry workers denied toilet breaks resort to diapers: Oxfam

13 May 2016

Poultry workers in the United States are routinely denied bathroom breaks to the point of being forced to wear diapers while on the production line, a new report claims.

The "vast majority" of 250,000 workers in the sector are mocked, ignored or threatened with being fired when they ask to go to the bathroom, Oxfam America said in the study. "Workers struggle to cope with this denial of a basic human need. They urinate and defecate while standing on the line; they wear diapers to work," said the report, released on Tuesday.

The US arm of the global anti-poverty charity added that workers would take on dangerously low levels of liquids, enduring pain and discomfort while risking serious health problems.

The group quoted anonymous workers at Tyson Foods, Perdue Farms, Pilgrim's Pride and Sanderson Farms, which between them have 100,000 workers and account for 60 percent of the sector.

Read more: https://www.afp.com/en/news/15/us-poultry-workers-denied-toilet-breaks-resort-diapers-oxfam

[lonestarnot]

1. Dept of Labor not doing anything about this? And what about OSHA?

[Art_from_Ark]

8. I think they can get away with that because a lot of those poultry workers

are undocumented immigrants.

[TexasBushwhacker]

10. Yup. Doing work American citizens don't want to do n/t

[reddread]

12. believe me, there are American citizens who want that work

Im not much on sarcasm tags myself.

[TexasBushwhacker]

14. Under those conditions? Wearing diapers? n/t

[reddread]

15. that isnt a condition that is a human rights abuse of some magnitude

made easier by a lack of oversight made easier by a surplus of contributions.
and we know to who.

[Art_from_Ark]

18. I had a friend from high school who did a stint at a local poultry plant

He said he lasted 2 weeks there. Nasty work, gutting chickens.

[TexasBushwhacker]

23. Yes, very unpleasant and it's all about speed

When the retain price per pound us $3 or less, they make their money on volume. There are a lot of repetitive motion injuries. I had a neighbor who worked as a wrapper at a chicken plant. 8 or more hours a day it was wrap and flip over and over. She had to have carpal tunnel surgery on both hands.

Even though they wear insulated suits to stay warm, standing on cold hard concrete all day is tough on the back and hips. I knew a butcher that ended up disabled and homeless because of it.

[reddread]

13. that and high level connections

Tyson always ring a bell.
they were often mentioned as supporters in 92.
Seems like Wal Mart never got a lot of mention?

[Art_from_Ark]

16. Tyson did contribute to Clinton's 1992 campaign

as did Sam Walton. Both were clients of Hillary's corporation-defending law firm.

[reddread]

17. how much stake might they possess?

I think that would be nice to know.

[Art_from_Ark]

20. Tyson executives contributed at least $18,000 in 1992

http://articles.latimes.com/1994-06-12/news/mn-3410_1_tyson-foods

[reddread]

21. Im wondering how much of an interest in Tyson the Clinton's might have?

Saw some reference to Hillary's Wal-Mart holdings today, I had never heard it put that way before.
pretty serious topic.

[Art_from_Ark]

22. Interesting question

I don't have a ready answer. But one thing I find interesting is that the first vacation the Clintons took after Bill became President (August 1993) was to Springdale, Arkansas, the home of Tyson's Foods.

[reddread]

24. oh yeah thats right

thanks I had just read about that but forgot or didnt latch onto that fact.

[Art_from_Ark]

26. The local newspaper had an article about the visit

Springdale is a factory town that would seem to be an unlikely spot for a vacation for someone with no family there. Apparently he was staying with some local bigshot who had a nice big house out on the lake.

[awoke_in_2003]

36. Paper tigers

The law means nothing when you don't have the manpower, due to funding, to enforce the law. This is exactly how republicans make our laws meaningless

[reddread]

39. it takes two to tango

money is buypartisan

[ViseGrip]

2. OMFG!

No words! We are in a great need of help...

[Third Doctor]

3. The gilded age all over again.

So many in this country know nothing of history and we are repeating it.

[gregcrawford]

4. Nothing will happen to these rat fuckers...

... they're big contributors! The corporate corruption in this country is an obscenity.

[tabasco]

5. As income inequality worsens, a developed nation will become more like a 3rd world nation

The oligarchs and their lackeys in the two major parties are taking us backward to the 19th century.

[appalachiablue]

28. Upton Sinclair novel, 'The Jungle', 1906. Chicago meatpacking industry, working and

living conditions, lack of social programs and poverty.

http://www.motherjones.com/media/2006/01/jungle-100

[awoke_in_2003]

37. Those days are coming back

because we turned our backs on unions.

[appalachiablue]

40. Yep, much suffering ever since and more to come. Neoliberals

have also seriously damaged and altered the media, journalism, public schools, academia and cities and urban areas which are becoming gentrified and cost prohibitive. Like labor unions, these were institutional bulwarks of democracy and liberalism.

[LiberalElite]

6. This isn't really news - I read about these abysmal working conditions years ago

in an animal rights article about factory farming and how it's bad for animals and humans alike.

[dgauss]

7. I wish we had a Charles Dickens of our age in the US.

Someone who could put these vast injustices into a human context that people would pay attention to. If that's fiction, so be it. There are unconscionable things going on and too much indifference.

[rusty quoin]

11. I think a new Dickens would need to be in a different type of media

than he used. If I remember correctly, his chapters were in editions of the paper. I imagine some blog could have another like him, but the whole thing is so diluted by it all.

I don't know how anyone can make the difference like Dickens did. And it took a couple of decades for him to do it.

[whereisjustice]

9. wtf?

[Babel_17]

19. Good reporting, and hopefully the story doesn't end with it

Thanks for posting this.

[reddread]

27. I hope France can do something about it

[senz]

25. President Sanders would raise the profile of these practices

until either congress was shamed into passing appropriate laws or unions were formed to forbid such employee abuse.

[northernsouthern]

29. Yeah this is why I am not a big HRC fan.

I had friends that worked for Tyson growing up while Bill was in charge. They could fire you for calling off sick ever. I avoid all tyson products...oh and it didn't help as a kid to see a tyson truck going way over the speed limit down one of our small county dirt roads by our house hit a slow moving pregnant black dog on a bright tan dirt road that was visible for a mile away. F tyson.

[moondust]

30. Investors want to get richer faster.

Richer faster richer faster richer faster richer faster...

They do not want to be out on the 14th green and get a call telling them profits are down, by God.

Richer faster richer faster richer faster richer faster...

[McGovernGirl]

31. Corporate America

My aunt, a NYC teacher, worked summers as a union organizer. I remember her telling me about going to Tupelo, Mississippi to organize the chicken pluckers (in the 50's, I think). Well, so much for that.

This is what happens in a country where corporatism reigns and unions are being destroyed.

[Sunlei]

32. It's true what the FBI has proven. Animal abusers do move on to cruelty to humans.

[ck4829]

33. Who wants food prepared like that?

That sounds far worse than sneezing on a salad.

K&R.

[mitty14u2]

34. Jobs American citizens don't want to do, Is BS

Catching Chickens is a year around job mostly in the South, who do you think caught Chickens before undocumented workers flooded the market? Poor American Citizens, this idea Americans don't want jobs is BS, a Bi Fat Lie to allow corporations or any company not to pay Social Security to workman's compensation and taxes.

A truck pulls up to a 100,000 chickens at 1:00 am by day break the chickens and truck are gone, nobody sees who caught the chickens, nobody cares because they are all subcontracted out by say Tyson and they are paid cash!

[reddread]

35. THATS RIGHT!

thank you for not letting that lie.
I see homeless people everywhere in this town
and so many many more that I dont see.
they would nearly all like that sort of opportunity
minus the inhuman labor abuses.

this is such a disgusting situation and we have to acknowledge WHY.

[lonestarnot]

38. No union, chicken eaters going to have to wash the chickens in dish soap as prep. No wonder all the

illness.