This is simply disgraceful. In a time of economic downturn, when other country’s workers are working for slave wages and liking it (their bosses say so), and when big companies are hurting because customers are irresponsibly fighting paying unreasonable, pointless fees, along come these sniveling bums who are complaining about a suggested way to reduce costs and boost efficiency. We’re doomed!
Union: Workers told to use urine bags
Union officials in Colorado say a Qwest supervisor tried to cut down on lengthy bathroom breaks by telling workmen to use disposable urinal bags in the field.
The manager distributed the bags to 25 male field technicians, telling them not to waste time leaving a job site to search for a public bathroom, the Rocky Mountain News reported Thursday.
I wonder what Qwest wants the workers to do when the urine bags get full?
#1. Toss them at their supervisors. Maybe they should just find a tree, plenty of em in Colorado.
What should a responsible work group manager do when the team is losing too much time to bathroom breaks?
Suggesting urine bags—is that better or worse than refusing bathroom breaks &/or starting disciplinary action for too much time away from the job?
How much time away from the job is reasonable before corrective action is warranted?
Too many variables to come down too hard on this story.
I wouldn’t read too much into this. I’m thinking the supervisor was just in a pissy mood that day.
How would these bags work? Do they get strapped on and you piss when the urge strikes? And then this piss bag is just dangling off your dick while you work all day?
Or do they have to go to the truck, piddle in the bag, and set it aside for later?
If it was the first scenario, I could see people spacing out for a few minutes while letting loose into their piss bag.
“Well, the plans show that…uhhhh…..”
“Jones, are you OK?”
“Hm? Oh, yeah…”
Ain’t that a pisser!
Not exactly the best of situations, but I can see it. I worked on a project that had to allow employees to take a break in their break room about a mile away. 15 minute breaks would be over 45 minutes to allow for the travel to and from the break room. About two hours a day of travel time @ Davis-Bacon wages. Probably added millions of dollars to the cost of the project (the whole project was over $4 Billion).
Fortunately, there were porta potties available all over the site when they hadn’t blown over or were overflowing — trust me, you NEVER want to even see the inside of a porta potty after it has been blown over and rolled repeatedly during a storm. Especially when that happens two days before the scheduled cleaning/emptying.
There was a story in Colorado a year or so ago..apparently truck drivers do this in gallon milk containers…then when full they chuck them out the windows (at 70 MPH), the highway workers call them yellow bombs and dive off the highway for cover. Apparently the workers were becoming targets.
I’ve did this myself once. I was working doing as built drawing package on a Medical trailer. It sucked having to drive back to the hotel (closest place) to pee. I couldn’t get into the building were it was located because no was there and you need a security pass. So I bought a big mouth pop bottle drink and than refilled it latter. Saved me time. Empty the bottle in the bushes. I got home sooner.
I agree with #11. I worked as a cable guy, and there would be places where there was no nearby restroom. You could drive to the nearest convenience store, but this was in the midwest and sometimes it would just take too much time out of the day.
I’ve seen bags like the ones named, they have gell in them and turn things solid, seal up, and then you thrown them away. But our place would have to buy them, so… no.
As long as you go behind the bushes, or where some one can’t see you were usually ok.
Plus you might also be too dirty from the field to go inside. This avoids both problems. 🙂
Hurray for #11 & #12 – obviously a couple of guys who’ve worked at the sort of jobs where a urine bag is actually welcome. Talk to hydroelectric linemen and tens of thousands of other men and women who work far away from bathroom conveniences to hear the same attitude. The Supervisor who is the subject of the story seems to have committed the cardinal sin of insisting when and where urine bags should be used. If so, he’s a didactic idiot and should really just be our sole target for derision. Uncle Dave should think about these kinds of posts before becoming so inappropriately outraged.