This is exactly the kind of thing for which (in my experience), libertarians of the type common in tech don't have a good answer.<p>Preventing this kind of abuse involves regulation, either directly or via unions (which themselves must have regulatory support in order to work.)<p>The free market can't solve all problems.
A break should be law-mandated, and it is in VERY FEW states: <a href="https://www.dol.gov/whd/state/rest.htm" rel="nofollow">https://www.dol.gov/whd/state/rest.htm</a>.
Sounds like mandatory video records of the production lines is a necessary first step... reviewable by anyone at any time and with missing footage fineable (backup cameras are not prohibitively expensive).<p>Again, outside independent monitoring and a serious expectation of financial losses are the only ways corporations are made to follow their own statements and 'best practices'.<p>Additionally, this is potential malfeasance in the process of providing our food supply - there should be a higher standard here.
Are you sure they aren't being denied <i>paid</i> breaks? I thought being denied breaks was illegal, but some states let employers force employees to punch out first. You could argue against that, but it makes sense in jobs where the end product is objectively measurable and you're being paid for that narrow job. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
I worked in a seafood plant that wasn't this bad, but had similar policies.<p>- During rushes, it actually made sense. You can't stop the line because someone needs a break.<p>- You learn to regulate your fluid intake/output to correspond to the scheduled breaks. Eventually you adapt.<p>- These are tough, grueling entry-level positions. There are many, many awful things about this type of work that you just accept.<p>- Floor managers are often some of the dumbest people you will run into. Anyone smart enough is saving the money for another job/college. The people promoted to supervisors really don't want to apply themselves to another line of work. As such, they all have a mentality of wanting their floors to look busy, even if there is not a lot of work on hand. Having a powertrip over denying bathroom breaks is often part of this.
Sounds like brutal work. Does anyone here have experience with this type of work? Is there a reason why processing poultry hasn't been automated? If we have automation systems that can put cars together, surely processing chicken is within the realm of possibility?
de-regulation & free market will make right! Let's have the product labels indicate whether workers wore diapers and have the consumers decide the direction of worker conditions.
Thats meta. Start treating the workers as the poultry.<p>Next, feed them and force them to stay still, so they gain weight and spend more time taking care of the chickens.
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