over the last 1.5 hours, i have urinated 3 times (i know, TMI for everyone, but sorry!) if i was forced to hold all that in, i wouldn't be able to control myself and would probably have urinated in my pants. so yes, i can see employees actually urinating themselves... REALLY.
I think people are missing the point here. Many employers have set established, regulated times for employees to take breaks. What those employees choose to do on those breaks is their prerogative. How many breaks the employee chooses to take is not. Clearly, this situation at the Jim Beam plant has spiralled out of control to the point where action needed to be taken. What we have here is a situation where the union, always on the lookout for something to boost its negotiating leverage with management, has taken a relatively innocuous policy, applied a wild twist to it (saying employees are urinating on themselves), and is taking it to the public in hopes of tarnishing the reputation of management. This is a union vs. management issue, not a bladder versus clock issue. The union is getting what it wanted, as the story has hit many major newswires and people are talking about it. When we're paying $50 for a 1.75-liter bottle of Jim Beam, you'll know what this debate and attention accomplished.
Do you not think that just for one second, maybe, JUST MAYBE, Jim Beam might be exaggerating the economic necessity of scheduled bathroom breaks. Until they can submit a report that proves that bathroom breaks cause significant financial and production losses, there's no reason to support this policy. I was never a big Jim Beam drinker, but I did buy their steak sauce. I won't anymore . . . anyone have any suggestions for an alternative?
You don't really believe that do you? Allowing people to piss when they ****ing need to is going to equal the doubling of the price of whiskey?
If they can do your job in 5 hours less I'm not sure what the problem is. Maybe you can talk to them about why you are so slow. Kill you with the stink? Strangely enough there are more people out there like you. And they are scary. Check this out... "To the horror of perfume makers worldwide, Halifax has become the first major center in North America to prohibit the wearing of all cosmetic fragrances - from Giorgio to grandmother's lavender soap - in most indoor public places, including municipal offices, libraries, hospitals, classrooms, courts, and mass transit buses." Oh no! You make fun of us ... But I digress. This thread is not about smoking as keeley so observantly pointed out...lets not make this a pissing contest.
RM95 You are still missing my point. My point is that by allowing the union increased leverage, they will exert their power over management in this area and in other areas, such as labor cost negotiations. Labor costs are far and away the biggest cash expense at these factories and the price of Jim Beam will reflect any meaningful increase in wages. This is all over and above productivity losses (from lost time due to excessive breaking) and the impact they have on the cost structure. A great example which illustrates this is the current baseball crisis. As a result of union dominance over the owners in the past 20 years, the price of tickets has skyrocketed. Same principle.
So, you really believe that allowing someone to piss when they need to will ultimately lead to higher whiskey prices? I think by not allowing them to do this will result in unhappy and therefore unproductive workers which will cost them just as much.
What I believe (and what I have attempted to explain) is that giving in to the union's demands will lead to higher whiskey prices. It's very hard to argue with that.
Give me more examples of this other than baseball (or any pro sports for that matter...No one put a gun to Tom Hicks' head.). Give me an example where a company has had to shutdown or double the prices of their products due to the workers having some basic rights and a liveable wage.
http://www.bigtreenews.com/biglaborpartIII.html Here you go, I found this in 2 minutes. Any basic manufacturing industry deals with the issue of labor costs. Labor unions in the United States have forced manufactures into places like Mexico, Thailand, and China to find cheaper employees. I work in a mergers and acquisitions group, and I can guarantee you every single time we look at acquiring a business, the very first question is whether the employees are part of a union. NOBODY benefits from unions. If employees are highly skilled and valuable, then they should not have to band together and form a monopoly on the labor market for protection. Their skills should speak for themselves, if that is the case, then they should have no problem finding alternative employment should the need arise.
Jorge You seem to beleive everything the MANAGEMENT says and like to blame Unions. You said it got out of hand [or maybe it was Hayes] so they had to do something .. . well REMEMBER that MANAGEMENT had gotten out of hand. . . so UNIONS were created. It is easy to say Unions Evil . . but read about conditions BEFORE unions. Unsafe working conditions barely covers the surface. Rocket River
Hey! That wasn't me dammit! As usual the truth is somewhere in the middle. Corporations left to their own devices screw workers consistently, from what their labor should really be worth to the working conditions. Unions left to their own devices allow not productive workers to collect high wages and drive wages so high that the whole enterprise becomes unprofitable.
1. I do more work than they do. We have primarily the same jobs and I'm more productive because I work more. But since we're on the same team, all the work on the project is lumped together. 2. Maybe the stink doesn't kill us, but your second hand smoke does. Please stop slowly killing me with your second hand smoke. 3. And you smell horrible. If you want to smell sh*tty that's your call. Just thought I'd let you know that you are repugnant to be around after a cigarette and that most people lose respect for you in your working environment when you smell like a sweaty cigarette. But I digress...I'll stop talking about smoking...this is a piss thread. I just get so frustrated with smokers sometimes. My grandparents killed themselves with cigs...do yourself a favor and quit...take the money you spend on cigs and buy Rockets tix.
If you work more and are more productive maybe you should talk to your boss about a raise instead of griping about your co-workers. Or maybe you aren't as productive as you think. Seems like you take some breaks to surf the net during work hours. If you want to tango on that point search for one of the many ETS threads we've already had and bring it back to the top. I'll be happy to engage you on the issue. Hmmmm, luckily I perform so well in my profession that I don't have to worry about 'losing respect' cause I smoke. Maybe if you concentrated on your own performance instead of counting the minutes your co-workers are on break your work 'productivity' would get noticed. BTW: there are companies that do not hire people who smoke. Maybe you should find one of those if you're really that repulsed. Sorry about your grandparents, but don't take your inner rage out on smokers, see a therapist.
