Amazon Warehouse Employees Pee Into Bottles to Save Time

rgMekanic

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The Sun is reporting that undercover investigator James Bloodworth has found some nasty secrets about working in an Amazon warehouse. In the 700,000 sqft 4 story warehouse, some of the 1,200 workers face a quarter-mile walk to two restrooms located on the ground floor. While investigating Mr. Bloodworth worked 10 hour days in the warehouse, walking 10 miles per day. Mr Bloodworth said:

“People just peed in bottles because they lived in fear of being disciplined over ‘idle time’ and losing their jobs just because they needed the loo.”

In addition he stated that the warehouse is like a prison, with airport-style security-scanners where workers are checked and patted down, as well as hoodies, sunglasses, and cell phones were banned as a security measure. Sounds like those patented employee tracking wristbands aren't as far fetched as once thought.
 
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Heard something similar to this either regarding the Jim Beam or Jack Daniels facilities. Employees were too afraid to be reprimanded for using the rest rooms so they just soiled themselves. Imagine working conditions like that. :/
 
Quartert mile walk to pee?

Jeeez fucking Christ.

I'd like to know who was the retarded architect or engineer that signed the project. Only a moron would not make some toilettes ever 100m so that workers could:

a) Use them whenever they needed
b) Have to walk as little as possible so not to waste time

Fucking idiots. Yeah, like people pee because they feel like it. And because when somebody is holding out, you work just as well.
 
Wait.. why not just pee in a Bottle? :p

Ever tried that? :LOL: A bag is much, much more comfy to use. A bottle... well, unless the ones in wherever you are from are different than the ones we have here... good luck with that :jimlad:
 
I can see my bathroom from where I work but I'm just too busy to worry about peeing until I take my 10 minute break to eat my lunch.
 
This is a complete load of horseshit.. nobody pees in bottles.. hoodies are not banned, you just keep the hood down because you can't hear or see with it up and there's powered equipment... everywhere.. this 'article' is just more "print the worst things you can think of, people are in the mood to believe ANYTHING you tell them..."
 
Sooo....No proof, just a claim from an ex-employee of people being scared for being reprimanded for spending to much time away from the job, notice they don't actually say going to the bathroom. And not a single case of any discipline happening for going to the bathroom, nor were the people (assuming it ever happened) told/asked to pee in a bottle. And no where did he say the bathrooms were that far away, he is quoted as saying the bathrooms were 4 flights of stairs away for those on the top floor. They show photos etc of people sleeping on the job and doing nothing, which is not acceptable at any job, if you are on the clock, you are up and ready. Wow....10 whole miles a day, I did pipeline work and did that before lunch.

Hoodies, sunglasses, cell phones etc etc are banned from lots, if not most industrial jobs. Being run through turnstiles, and searches are also quite common, no less somewhere dealing with lots of expensive goods.

The "reporter" who said all of this is a former member of "Alliance for Workers' Liberty" which is a Trotskyism group, those who don't know what that is, it's a theory of Marxism. Last but not least, it is also tied to his book, not just a report, so he has a vested interest in making a splash about all of this.

For those that buy into the slave labor prison mindset of Amazon, feel free to take a tour of one of the fulfillment centers, I have, and will say its a massive step up to some of the places I worked when I was younger.
 
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This is a complete load of horseshit.. nobody pees in bottles.. hoodies are not banned, you just keep the hood down because you can't hear or see with it up and there's powered equipment... everywhere.. this 'article' is just more "print the worst things you can think of, people are in the mood to believe ANYTHING you tell them..."
It's also The Sun. For those unfamiliar, it's a terrible publication. Just one sidestep from batboy tabloids.
 
There’s plenty of negatives to unions but I ain’t never had to worry about being repreimanded for using a restroom. And if I was I could get away with telling them to eat shit.

Alternatively if I’m not allowed to go piss well..... there’s going to be some nasty dark corners, props to warehouse workers somehow being much cleaner than construction workers and using bottles.
 
I call BS. Sunglasses and hoodies? In a warehouse environment? Good. Nice safety measure.

Peeing in bottles? Come on. I've worked warehouse (not Amazon, and not in UK). Bathrooms weren't very close, but you had plenty of breaks. Sure, you didn't want to go mid-shift when it was busy. But, you wouldn't get in trouble for it unless it was constantly an issue (if you can't hold your piss for more than 30 minutes, wear a diaper).

It sounds like Amazon is doing business as usual, at least compared to Wal-mart and Fred Meyer. Even where I work now, our warehouse is similar. Bathrooms are by the breakrooms, and aren't out in the large open area of the warehouse. We don't allow hoodies or sunglasses inside for safety reasons.

I wonder if they bitch they can't wear open toed shoes...

The Amazon data center was similar, but expected. I don't expect a bathroom every 50 ft.. But, I was always allowed to use it when I needed to, because I didn't go every 30 minutes and just waited until break time.
 
The Brave New World...

To be fair, there's worse, hardly anything new, but seeing it in a "civilised" western country always hits hard, what can i say.
Ironically, there has never been a more "liberal" era to live in than today's. But i leave that discussion for another time and place :)

As to worker unions or lack thereof that have been mentioned above, one word reply really: Money.
 
I call BS on this for a bunch of reasons. I don't doubt that perhaps some people did this sometimes, but I'm sure it was not standard practice and not encouraged. Would you want your personal massager to be handled by a guy who pissed in a bottle all day long and never washed his hands?

I toured one of the gigantic Boeing plants in where the big commercial jets are assembled. It was like an indoor city.... and everything was 1/4+ mile away. There were bicycles everywhere that the workers rode INDOORS so they could go to the can or lunch or whatever without using the entire break time walking. Upper level types had golf carts. The place was amazing.
 
Imagine being disciplined over accidentally mailing a bottle of pee?

Probably get brought up on charges for biological warfare.

The idea of having every second of your day tracked for productivity and being let go if you fall too far behind makes me thankful I don't work in an environment like that.

It's really obvious that lower tier jobs fucking suck and people that perform them get treated like second class citizens. For example:

I used to work as a sales executive in a company that had offices up front, and the manufacturing and shipping out back. There were 2 separate break rooms, one for office workers and one for the employees from the warehouse. The employees from the warehouse were not permitted in the office breakroom. They were about 20 feet apart separated by a small hallways and 2 doors. The Office breakroom had 4 types of fresh coffee brewed and ready for free anytime all day long, looked like a brand new kitchen in a model home, was well lit, clean, and had several expensive tables and comfortable chairs to sit in. There were brand new appliances like fridge, microwaves, range/oven, ect for convenience. Cabinets were filled with complimentary silverware, glass plates, cups, mugs, pots and pans.

The warehouse break room was in an unfinished room with part stained concrete / part broken tile floor. The Refrigerator was about 30 years old, in disrepair. They had a coffee maker, but it was filthy, and you had to bring your own coffee to make it. Their were 2 hard plastic style booth tables like from an old truckstop diner for you to sit in (very uncomfortable), and the room was poorly lit, depressing, and looked like an old rest area facility. The countertops were part broken boards and unfinished lamenate, with stains and chips in them. There are no untensils, cups or convenience items available. The line workers busted their asses standing all day in strenuous positions until they were sore and exhausted. Once I hit my sales numbers for the month it was pretty much just time to fuck off watching movies or running emulators in my office until the next month.

Even though we all worked for the same company, the divide couldn't have been any more obvious since it was all in the same building. Even with all of these issues, if you think the class system is bad here in the USA, there are other countries that make this look like heaven.
 
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Yeah, but honestly, what are consumers like you and me going to do about it? We like shiny things at a good price delivered within two or so days.
 
I have heard of such cases hear in the US. Despite OSHA's policy https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/1998-04-06-0 incidents still occur due to fear of discipline or termination. I was once working the night shift at a Tom Thumb grocery store. I was 18 at the time. I was the only cashier present. Unfortunately, that one night shift I ever did was nearly a disaster. I had to use the bathroom, but being the only cashier, I could not leave my post. It got to the point where I was sweating like crazy and my whole body was shaking and according to two customers, my face was extremely pale. It got to the point that my hands were shaking so violently that I could not operate the register. The present customer thought I was having a seizure. All I could get out was "bathroom". She and the customer behind both said GO! We'll wait. No new customers were waiting in line when I got back and nothing ever came up about it later from management. So, I dodged a bullet.
 
They show photos etc of people sleeping on the job and doing nothing, which is not acceptable at any job, if you are on the clock, you are up and ready. Wow....10 whole miles a day, I did pipeline work and did that before lunch.

For those that buy into the slave labor prison mindset of Amazon, feel free to take a tour of one of the fulfillment centers, I have, and will say its a massive step up to some of the places I worked when I was younger.

My Note 4 has a pedometer and tracks how far I walk (while it's in my pocket).
I usually walk 1-2 miles a day, and I have a desk job :eek:
 
The idea of having every second of your day tracked for productivity and being let go if you fall too far behind makes me thankful I don't work in an environment like that.

That’s the new corporate work environment.

I pee in bottles/big gulp cup, then again I’m in the field, sometimes miles away from a public restroom
 
Yeah, but honestly, what are consumers like you and me going to do about it? We like shiny things at a good price delivered within two or so days.
I shop on Ebay and wait a week cause fuck Amazon. Also shit is cheaper usually on Ebay.
 
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Ok, but I don't trust ebay as much as I trust Amazon, or even Newegg.
 
It is invariably the shitty employees who piss and moan.
 
Murdoch owned media outlet slams the company owned man who annoys Trump shock. More at 11.


The sun is gutter trash. They'll just report whatever someone tells them. No attempts to corroborate. Just publish a retraction if someone calls them on it.
 
This is a complete load of horseshit.. nobody pees in bottles.. hoodies are not banned, you just keep the hood down because you can't hear or see with it up and there's powered equipment... everywhere.. this 'article' is just more "print the worst things you can think of, people are in the mood to believe ANYTHING you tell them..."

Well, on the other hand, they just fired here every single employee that was on strike. Yes, Amazon.

They clearly don't give a fuck about their employees.
 
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Trump say Bezos bad. Me smash Bezos!

The working conditions at Amazon were known well before anyone knew who Trump was. Bezos is indeed an asshole if this company has such horrid conditions, especially after all these years. Besides, Amazon prices are not cheap anymore. They're more expensive to the competition on many things and their shipping times are much slower. Why anyone would still buy from them these days is a mystery to me. Surely they're cheaper on somethings, but in general for computer hardware and whatnot there are better alternatives.
 
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