When I was in my teens and a high-school dropout, I spent a year working in a large west-coast sawmill that supplied wood to a pulp and paper mill. The whole purpose of a sawmill is to take large logs and reduce and reshape them to something that could serve a purpose such as construction or, in the case of my sawmill, making paper. If you were operating a machine - e.g. a "jumpsaw" - involved in this process, there was no way you could leave it without causing total chaos. We took scheduled breaks. At ten in the morning, at noon, and at three in the afternoon (and equivalents on night shift and graveyard shift), the "head sawyer" would simply stop sawing logs and everyone would go to the lunch room or the washroom, or wherever. The only other times the system would shut down was if a machine "went mechanical" or if there was a real emergency. There was simply no other way of operating. We all understood that.
Ed Ed Weick 577 Melbourne Ave. Ottawa, ON, K2A 1W7 Canada Phone (613) 728 4630 Fax (613) 728 9382 ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, September 02, 2002 12:34 PM Subject: RE: the rat race to the bathroom > > > Or even better, piss on the managers!! I was this article and couldn't > believe that this sort of thing was still going on North America in 2002. > > > [Those managers ought to "piss off" !] > > http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020827/ap_on_re_us/bathr > oom_breaks_1 > > Kentucky Plant Cited for Bathroom Policy > AP Tue Aug 27, 3:38 PM ET > > By BRUCE SCHREINER, Associated Press Writer > > CLERMONT, Ky. (AP) - Employees at the Jim Beam bourbon > distillery are getting sour over restrictions on bathroom breaks. > > Workers on the bottling line are fuming about being limited to > four breaks per 8 1/2 hour shift, only one of which can be > unscheduled. Extra trips to the bathroom can result in > reprimands. Workers with six violations can be fired. > > The United Food and Commercial Workers local said some of > the 100 affected employees have urinated on themselves > because they were afraid to leave the line. Some wear > protective undergarments and others have feigned illnesses to > go home and avoid getting violations, said Jo Anne Kelley, > president of the union local. > > "It's a shame when you feel you have the need to go to the > bathroom, but you ask yourself, `Do I soil myself or do I > protect my job?'" Kelley said. > > The state has slapped the distiller with a citation. Jim Beam > appealed; a hearing officer on Wednesday is expected to > recommend to a review commission whether to sustain or > overrule the citation. The commission's decision can be > appealed in court. > > Jim Beam Brands, headquartered in Deerfield, Ill., said its > policy strikes a balance between employees' physical needs > and the company's productivity needs. The company, which > consulted a urologist before imposing the limits, said the time > between breaks will generally be about two hours and never > more than three. > > "Our policy is fair and reasonable and it does respect the real > needs that our employees have," said Jack Allen, human > resources director at the Clermont plant, nestled between lush > Kentucky hills about 25 miles south of Louisville. > > The policy, which took effect in October, was instituted only > at the Clermont plant because some workers abused the > privilege of unlimited bathroom breaks, the company said. > > Workers can be exempted with a doctor's note. So far, 29 have > gotten waivers for medical necessity and can go as often as > needed, Allen said. > > Margaret Boone, who has worked at the distillery for 34 years, > has one violation on her record. > > "I've held it and it's miserable," said Boone, who has since > obtained a medical waiver. "You can only concentrate on > looking at the clock and wondering when break time is going > to be." >
