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Joanie Baloney

(1,357 posts)
Fri Jul 11, 2014, 05:50 PM Jul 2014

On a scale from 1 to 10 (with 10 being dead wrong), how wrong is this??

Chicago Company Counts the Minutes Workers Spend on the Toilet

Employees who exceed 6 minutes of potty time each day face discipline. Union and company owner at odds over contract terms.

Does your boss count the minutes you spend on the potty?

The folks who run WaterSaver Faucet Co. in Chicago do, and the five dozen factory workers there are so fed up with crossing their legs on the job that they've filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board.

The workers, who build faucet stations that go into high schools, university labs and healthcare facilities, say they are allowed only 6 minutes per day for toilet breaks, according to Teamsters Local 743, and anyone who exceeds their allotted toilet time is reprimanded.
The company implemented a toilet-tracking system earlier this year that requires employees to swipe a keycard to use the bathroom, Steven Kersten, owner and president of WaterSaver Faucet Co., told the Chicago Tribune.



http://lakeview.patch.com/groups/business-news/p/chicago-company-counts-the-minutes-workers-spend-on-the-toilet

I'd be soooo reprimanded!


-JB
39 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
On a scale from 1 to 10 (with 10 being dead wrong), how wrong is this?? (Original Post) Joanie Baloney Jul 2014 OP
11. zappaman Jul 2014 #1
Gosh I would be fired especially yeoman6987 Jul 2014 #10
And this is with a Union involved? PeteSelman Jul 2014 #2
If you recall, Ronald Reagan broke the backs of the unions. I think they do what they can. Hekate Jul 2014 #14
This is egregious though. PeteSelman Jul 2014 #16
Maybe they did and maybe they didn't, but it certainly is egregious, and stinks to high heaven. nt Hekate Jul 2014 #17
It was done a long time before Reagan. A HERETIC I AM Jul 2014 #22
There were still strong unions when I was growing up as a Boomer; my dad was in one.But St Ronnie-- Hekate Jul 2014 #23
The teeth were pulled long before. A HERETIC I AM Jul 2014 #24
Uh, Americans with Disabilities Act? I have IBS. And sucky periods sometimes. 9? moriah Jul 2014 #3
My reaction, as well. Ms. Toad Jul 2014 #35
pregnant mercuryblues Jul 2014 #4
It would take the first time for that toilet interlock to stop working. hobbit709 Jul 2014 #5
Ha! Joanie Baloney Jul 2014 #6
This message was self-deleted by its author Adam051188 Jul 2014 #7
I rate it at 100. eom MohRokTah Jul 2014 #8
Turn it to 11! BillZBubb Jul 2014 #9
Well you know, the paperwork can be so tedious... MrMickeysMom Jul 2014 #11
LOL Joanie Baloney Jul 2014 #13
Thank you, capitalism! n/t Orsino Jul 2014 #12
This proves it: Corporate execs aren't actual humans. But I gotta tell ya: As a teacher, I had FOUR WinkyDink Jul 2014 #15
Yes, but you had that several times a day Ms. Toad Jul 2014 #36
Am I to assume then no meal break? WinkyDink Jul 2014 #37
I would expect there is a meal break - Ms. Toad Jul 2014 #38
8 Takket Jul 2014 #18
Awful. I'll give it a 10 BainsBane Jul 2014 #19
Much better to let everyone pee at their work stations Gormy Cuss Jul 2014 #20
A company that spends that much time Aerows Jul 2014 #21
^^This!^^ BrotherIvan Jul 2014 #25
WaterSaver Faucet! elleng Jul 2014 #26
This is sooo discriminatory against those with bowel problems. icymist Jul 2014 #27
This also discriminates against women. There are research studies pnwmom Jul 2014 #28
There is no scale of wrong that does justice to this. Kalidurga Jul 2014 #29
Six minutes eh? rock Jul 2014 #30
Does the six minute rule apply to everyone? SheilaT Jul 2014 #31
Do they sell Depends at the company store? Tierra_y_Libertad Jul 2014 #32
Sounds like they are wanting to pay in Depends and are setting the stage. TheKentuckian Jul 2014 #33
I pee a lot. Couldn't they be violating some kind of law? Throd Jul 2014 #34
On a scale of 1 to 10 that is about a 1000 madokie Jul 2014 #39

Hekate

(90,777 posts)
14. If you recall, Ronald Reagan broke the backs of the unions. I think they do what they can.
Fri Jul 11, 2014, 07:28 PM
Jul 2014

Hopefully the NLRB will have something to say about this.

PeteSelman

(1,508 posts)
16. This is egregious though.
Fri Jul 11, 2014, 08:32 PM
Jul 2014

Someone negotiated this travesty into the contract. I hope they got something major in return.

Hekate

(90,777 posts)
17. Maybe they did and maybe they didn't, but it certainly is egregious, and stinks to high heaven. nt
Fri Jul 11, 2014, 08:42 PM
Jul 2014

Hekate

(90,777 posts)
23. There were still strong unions when I was growing up as a Boomer; my dad was in one.But St Ronnie--
Fri Jul 11, 2014, 08:51 PM
Jul 2014

St Ronnie took the cake. And all the frosting too.

A HERETIC I AM

(24,376 posts)
24. The teeth were pulled long before.
Fri Jul 11, 2014, 08:54 PM
Jul 2014

That's what Taft Hartley did - pulled the teeth of organized labor. Reagan was just yanking the crappy dentures.

moriah

(8,311 posts)
3. Uh, Americans with Disabilities Act? I have IBS. And sucky periods sometimes. 9?
Fri Jul 11, 2014, 05:52 PM
Jul 2014

I think they'll win their complaint.

Ms. Toad

(34,086 posts)
35. My reaction, as well.
Sat Jul 12, 2014, 03:44 PM
Jul 2014

I have a daughter whose potty needs vary tremendously because of IBD - and when I had uterine fibroids, 3/4 of the month I spent the entire day running from my office to the potty and back again.

Except that I think 9 is being generous...

Response to Joanie Baloney (Original post)

MrMickeysMom

(20,453 posts)
11. Well you know, the paperwork can be so tedious...
Fri Jul 11, 2014, 06:34 PM
Jul 2014

… while you're filling out your deposit slip.

Maybe bathroom signs would be in order…. Let's see…. How about, "Don't fudge on your paperwork!"

Joanie Baloney

(1,357 posts)
13. LOL
Fri Jul 11, 2014, 07:24 PM
Jul 2014

You've got a real humorous streak there, MMM.


Did anyone else chuckle when they read that the company's name is WaterSaver???

-JB

 

WinkyDink

(51,311 posts)
15. This proves it: Corporate execs aren't actual humans. But I gotta tell ya: As a teacher, I had FOUR
Fri Jul 11, 2014, 07:33 PM
Jul 2014

minutes between classes to "go," and that was after decades of having class-passing time only THREE minutes!

Ms. Toad

(34,086 posts)
36. Yes, but you had that several times a day
Sat Jul 12, 2014, 03:47 PM
Jul 2014

in a day that lasted fewer than 8 hours. This is 6 minutes TOTAL - for the entire 8 hour day.

Ms. Toad

(34,086 posts)
38. I would expect there is a meal break -
Sun Jul 13, 2014, 09:27 AM
Jul 2014

But the point is that you were comparing a combined bathroom break of six minutes to the 4 minute break you had (on all the school schedules I'm aware of) 5-7 times a day. Six minutes +a lunch break in an 8 hour day is not comparable to 20-28 minutes + a lunch break in a day which is almost certainly shorter than 8 hours.

Takket

(21,620 posts)
18. 8
Fri Jul 11, 2014, 08:44 PM
Jul 2014

6 minutes??????????? sometimes 6 minutes just doesn't cut it............... let's not elaborate any more than that.

BainsBane

(53,056 posts)
19. Awful. I'll give it a 10
Fri Jul 11, 2014, 08:44 PM
Jul 2014

and I once again count my blessings over how lucky I am to have the employer I do.

Gormy Cuss

(30,884 posts)
20. Much better to let everyone pee at their work stations
Fri Jul 11, 2014, 08:45 PM
Jul 2014

or to develop UTIs, kidney damage, constipation, etc.
Win-win!!!!

 

Aerows

(39,961 posts)
21. A company that spends that much time
Fri Jul 11, 2014, 08:45 PM
Jul 2014

worrying about how long somebody spends in the bathroom has a productivity problem - and it has nothing to do with the employees.

BrotherIvan

(9,126 posts)
25. ^^This!^^
Sat Jul 12, 2014, 03:50 AM
Jul 2014

If that's what you build your business model on, you are an idiot. I'll bet there are far too many useless managers and most people would quit that job in a heartbeat if they could.

icymist

(15,888 posts)
27. This is sooo discriminatory against those with bowel problems.
Sat Jul 12, 2014, 04:11 AM
Jul 2014

Wow! You have something like a colostomy? I'm sorry, you only have six minutes to fix your problem. Crohns disease? Total, six minutes in a eight hour shift! Gotta have that big BM? Sorry after six minutes have passed by! Better hold it! Diarrhea? Forget it! Don't even get me talking about those born with an infortated anus! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperforate_anus That's a 'hidden' disability and we don't see it!

pnwmom

(108,990 posts)
28. This also discriminates against women. There are research studies
Sat Jul 12, 2014, 04:19 AM
Jul 2014

showing how much time women need to use the toilet compared to men, and it's more. Most women who work are dealing with monthly periods as well as everything else.

Also, women are at risk of urinary tract infections if they don't go to the bathroom frequently enough. Any policy that prevents that puts their health at risk.

Kalidurga

(14,177 posts)
29. There is no scale of wrong that does justice to this.
Sat Jul 12, 2014, 05:07 AM
Jul 2014

But, the way I would handle it is to go home when my six minutes were up. I would first of course encourage everyone to do the same thing at the same time on the same day, but that's just me.

madokie

(51,076 posts)
39. On a scale of 1 to 10 that is about a 1000
Sun Jul 13, 2014, 10:25 AM
Jul 2014

The camels back is getting overloaded big time here
We gonna have to remove the politicians that have allowed shit like this to become the norm. GOT'f*nV

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