if workers owned and controlled their jobs cooperatively, instead of taking orders under capitalism, would they do this to themselves?
this is the bottom of the barrel and the future of capitalism in america if nothing changes
https://www.oxfamamerica.org/static/media/files/No_Relief.pdf
this is in america:
"Routinely, poultry workers say, they
are denied breaks to
use the bathroom. Supervisors mock their needs and ignore
their requests; they threaten punishment or firing. Workers
wait inordinately long times (an hour or more), then race to
accomplish the task within a certain timeframe (e.g., ten
minutes) or risk discipline.
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; they restrict intake of liquids and
fluids to dangerous degrees; they endure pain and discomfort
while they worry about their health and job security. And
it’s not just their dignity that suffers: they are in danger of
serious health problems.
in one survey of 266 workers in Alabama conducted by the
Southern Poverty Law Center, nearly 80 percent said they are
not allowed to take bathroom breaks when needed.
A recent
survey in Minnesota revealed that 86 percent of workers
interviewed said they get fewer than two bathroom breaks in
a week.
jose, who worked at a Pilgrim’s plant in
Alabama, says the supervisors regularly threatened people: “Go
to the bathroom, and from there, go to Human Resources.” He
witnessed many women crying about not getting to go to the
bathroom, even if they were menstruating.
In a lawsuit against a poultry company in Mississippi, women
workers say that their supervisor “charged them money for
such things as using the bathroom.
If they are forced to wait too long after asking
for a break, they may be compelled to urinate where they are
standing, or while running to the restroom.
Too many workers tell stories about urinating on themselves,
or witnessing coworkers urinating on themselves. It is not only
embarrassing and degrading, it’s extremely uncomfortable
to feel the
warm urine in a frigid environment, and to have
wet clothing in temperatures hovering around 40 degrees.
Hanson, a worker at a Tyson plant in Arkansas, had the
uncomfortable experience of seeing his own mother urinate
on herself at work; she now wears diapers to work to avoid it
happening again. Fern, a Tyson worker in Arkansas, said she
had to wait so long that she had to urinate at her work station;
she believes others had the same experience, but most are too
humiliated to share the experience.
Robert, who works at a Simmons plant in Arkansas says, “I’ve
seen people pee on the line—and sometimes when they’re
running to get to the bathroom, women pee on themselves.”
He once saw a man running toward the bathroom who both
peed and defecated on himself. “I don’t know any more about
it than the shame of that man who went to the bathroom like
that... He told his supervisor and they sent him home.
To add to the risk, studies show that poultry workers in many
plants may absorb so many
antibiotics from handling chicken
flesh that they build a resistance to antibiotics, which can make
it difficult to treat infections.
One study of the biological effects of not being able
to use the bathroom when necessary reported that the pressure
on the bladder and the urethra
can cause kidney damage,
infection, and even death.
The biggest risk to workers is of developing urinary tract
infections (UTIs).