A NEW REPORT FROM OXFAM FINDS THAT SOME INDIVIDUALS WORKING
AT CHICKEN PROCESSING PLANTS ARE FORCED TO WEAR DIAPERS
BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT ALLOWED TO TAKE BREAKS TO USE THE RESTROOM.
JESUS.
THIS LENGTHY REPORT HIGHLIGHTS MANY QUESTIONABLE THINGS
THAT ARE HAPPENING AT FOR SPECIFIC MANUFACTURING PLANTS.
"WORKERS AT FOUR MAJOR CHICKEN MANUFACTURERS WERE DENIED ñ
WERE REGULARLY DENIED BATHROOM BREAKS, OR WERE ALLOWED
SUCH A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME TO USE THE FACILITIES THAT MANY HAD
RESORTED TO USING ñ TO WEARING DIAPERS ON THE FACTORY FLOOR.
OXFAM CONDUCTED THREE YEARS WORTH OF RESEARCH AT TYSON
FOODS, PERDUE FARMS, SANDERSON FARMS AND PILGRIM'S PRIDE,
INCLUDING CONDUCTING HUNDREDS OF INTERVIEWS.
SOME WORKERS WERE TOLD TO LIMIT THE AMOUNT OF WATER THEY
DRINK IN ORDER TO URINATE LESS.
AS A RESULT, MANY OF THEM DEVELOPED UTI'S.
IF A WORKER NEEDS TO GO, SOMEONE HAS TO REPLACE THEM ON THE
LINE UNTIL THEY COME BACK.
WORKERS SAY FINDING A REPLACEMENT CAN TAKE UP TO
AN HOUR.
SOMETIMES, THEY SAY, A REPLACEMENT NEVER ARRIVES."
BY THE WAY, THERE IS ONE EXTRA OTHER ELEMENT OF DISASTER
ABOUT THIS STORY.
IF THEY DEVELOP A URINARY TRACT INFECTION, AS THEY ARE MORE
LIKELY TO DO, IT IS HARDER TO TREAT BECAUSE OF THE
ANTIBIOTICS THEY ARE EXPOSED TO IN THOSE CHICKEN PLANTS.
THE WORDING OF THAT, IN MY OPINION, WAS QUESTIONABLE.
THEY SAID IT COULD MAKE THE UTIíS HARDER TO TREAT BECAUSE OF
ANTIBIOTICS, THERE IS NO PROOF OF THAT WHICH IS WHY I DID
NOT WANT TO PRESENT THAT INFORMATION.
ALL RIGHT, AND THERE'S 20
OF OTHER DEVASTATING FACTS ALREADY IN THE STORY.
YES.
SO, THIS IS MORE THE MOST DEPRESSING STORIES I'VE ñ
WE'VE PRESENTED TO YOU GUYS.
I KNOW WE TALK ABOUT DEATH AND TRAGEDIES ALL THE TIME, BUT LOOK
AT HOW MUCH OF THEY'VE WON IN CRUSHING OUR SOULS AND
DEMEANING WORKERS IN THIS COUNTRY.
WE'RE THIS CLOSE TO SENDING KIDS BACK INTO THE MINDS.
NOW THEY TELL WORKERS TO LITERALLY DEFECATE IN HER
PANTS, TO URINATE IN THEIR PANTS.
NO IT'S OKAY, WE'RE GONNA MAKE YOU PUT ON DIAPERS.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
IT'S SO BAD.
LOVE YOU MIGHT BE WONDERING, WELL WHAT'S GOING ON?
WE HAVE REGULATIONS THAT MAKE SURE THAT THE STANDARD
ACTIVITY DOESN'T HAPPEN IN FACTORIES.
BUT THE REALITY IS, YOU NOT ONLY NEED REGULATION TO ENSURE THAT
CORPORATIONS ARE DOING THE RIGHT THINGS, YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE
THAT YOU HAVE SOME BODY, A FEDERAL BODY TO MONITOR AND
EVALUATE ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT MEAT FACILITIES TO ENSURE
THAT THEY ARE FOLLOWING THE LAW.
BUT IT'S SO UNDERFUNDED THAT THEY ARE UNABLE TO DO SO.
LET ME GIVE YOU THE NUMBERS ON THAT.
"SINCE THE 1970S, THE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH
ADMINISTRATION HAS BEEN THE PRIMARY MONITOR OF MEAT
PROCESSING WORKERS SAFETY IN THE COUNTRY, DEVELOPING STANDARDIZED
WORKPLACE REGULATIONS AND CONDUCTING INSPECTIONS TO MAKE
SURE THAT THEY ARE MET, BUT IT IS UNDERSTAFFED AND UNDERFUNDED:
OSHA INSPECTED LESS THAN 1% OF THE COUNTRY'S WORKPLACES IN
2013."
WE TALK ABOUT THIS ALL THE TIME, BUT THIS IS A GOOD CASE TO
REMEMBER.
SO WHEN REPUBLICANS GO OUT THERE AND SAY THERE'S TOO MUCH
REGULATION, AND WE NEED TO WRITE ñ WE NEED TO BE REGULATED
TO CREATE MORE JOBS, NO NO, IT'S NOT ABOUT CREATING MORE
JOBS, AND MORE JOBS ARE GOING OVERSEAS.
IT'S TO MAKE SURE THAT MANAGEMENT CAN MAKE AN
EXTRA BUCK, BY ENSURING THAT YOU ARE WORKING NONSTOP.
IF YOU HAVE TO, AGAIN, LITERALLY DEFECATE IN YOUR PANTS SO
THAT YOU CAN KEEP WORKING ON AN ASSEMBLY LINE, THAT'S WHAT
YOU'RE GOING TO DO, AND THAT'S WHAT DEREGULATION IS GOING
TO GET THEM.
AND WHEN THEY DEFUND THINGS.
THEY'LL SAY, THE IRS IS OUTRAGEOUS, SO WE'RE GONNA
CUT THE AMOUNT OF MONEY WE'RE SENDING TO THE IRS.
WELL, THAT ALLOWS TAX CHEATS TO GET AWAY WITH THINGS, BECAUSE
YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MANPOWER TO FOLLOW UP TO SEE WHICH RICH
PERSON, OR WHICH CORPORATION IS ACTUALLY FOLLOWING THROUGH
WITH THE TAX LAWS, OR WHICH ONE IS HIDING MONEY IN THE CAYMAN
ISLANDS, OR DOING OTHER ILLEGAL THINGS TO CHEAT ON TAXES.
IN THIS CASE, YOU DEFUND OSHA, UNDER THE RUBRIC OF, OH NO I'M
HELPING JOBS, NO YOU ARE ñ CHRIST VIDEO BUFFERING ñ
THAT'S HOW IT WORKS.
THIS IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING UNIONS.
UNIONS GET TORN APART IN THE MAINSTREAM PRESS ALL THE TIME,
AND THE REALITY IS YES THERE ARE SOME DOWNSIDES TO UNIONS.
WE TALK ABOUT THE POLICE UNIONS A BIT, AND HOW THEY DEFEND
CLEAR CASES OF EXCESSIVE FORCE AND PLEASE REALITY.
BUT IN THE CASE OF FACTORIES LIKE THIS, UNIONS ENSURE
THAT THEY ARE US ñ
THAT THERE ARE SAFE WORKING CONDITIONS FOR THE WORKERS.
THEY LOOK OUT FOR YOU.
SO IF YOU ARE RUNNING AROUND BELIEVING ALL OF THESE UNION
BUSTERS, OR SMEARERS, THEN YOU ARE ACTUALLY WORKING
AGAINST YOURSELF.
THESE ARE PEOPLE WHO FOUGHT FOR WEEKENDS, FAIR WAGES, TO
ENSURE THAT YOU ARE WORKING IN A SAFE ENVIRONMENT, AND IF
YOU THINK THAT'S BAD, THEN I DON'T KNOW WHAT SITUATION
YOU ARE IN BUT YOU ARE DEFINITELY TAKING ADVANTAGE
OF SOME OF THE THINGS THAT UNIONS FOUGHT FOR.
AND THEY WORK.
EVEN IF YOU ARE AGAINST SOME OF THE ACTIONS OF THE POLICE
UNION, DO YOU THINK THE POLICE UNION WOULD LET ANYBODY GET
AWAY WITH THIS FOR COPS?
NO WAY.
AND THINK ABOUT ONE LAST THING, EVEN IF YOU'RE A TERRIBLE PERSON
AND YOU'LL CARE WHAT ANYBODY ELSE, YOU THINK SO WHAT, LET
THEM WEAR DIAPERS, HA HA - ALL RIGHT, KIND OF A MONSTER,
BUT THEY ARE ALSO WORKING ON YOUR FOOD.
THAT CHICKEN IS GOING ON YOUR TABLE AT SOME POINT, AND THAT
GUY HAS JUST SOILED HIMSELF, AND HE'S WORKING ON YOUR CHICKEN.
IT'S WORSE THAN THAT.
YES, HE SORTED HIMSELF AND THAT ALONE MAKES ME QUESTION THE
SAFETY OF THAT FOOD, BUT ALSO, EACH FACTORY WORKER HANDLES
40 CHICKENS PER MINUTE.
THINK ABOUT THAT.
WOW.
40 CHICKENS PER MINUTE.
YEAH, SO WE HAVE GOT TO GET BACK TO SANITY IN THIS COUNTRY.
ALL THAT HYPE YOU HEAR ON FOX NEWS ABOUT, SOCIALISM,
COMMUNISM, NO, WE JUST WANT SANITY.
WE WANT TO HAVE SAFE FOOD, WE WANT TO HAVE WORKERS WORK HARD,
BUT BE TREATED WITH SOME DEGREE OF DECENCY AND GET A FAIR WAGE.
THEY'RE NOT BOMBS, THEIR WORKING THEIR ASS OFF, SO CAN WE
GET THEM A FAIR WAGE AND DECENT WORKING CONDITIONS?
IT'S NOT TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR.
IT'S ACTUALLY WHAT WE USED TO HAVE IN THIS COUNTRY, UNTIL THEY
CORRUPTED ALL OF POLITICS BY LETTING PRIVATE INTEREST BY
ALL OF OUR POLITICIANS AND THEN WORK FOR PEOPLE WHO DO THIS.