Teamsters Local 730 Craps On Water Saver Faucet Company For Limiting Potty Breaks; Members are Pee’d Off

Water Saver Faucet Company is in deep doo doo with its employees after instituting new bathroom break regulations. The local union, Teamsters Local 730, filed a formal complaint with the National Relations Board after the company instituted a limit of 30 minutes per week for bathroom breaks, equating to only 6 minutes per day on average. Nearly one third of the employees have been disciplined for exceeding their allotted bathroom time.

To keep track of the amount of time an employee is using the bathroom, there is now a sign in and out process implemented. Rudy Dixon, an employee of 33 years, stated:

“Right now, you’ve got to write in and write out to go the the bathroom. Then when you go to the bathroom, you’ve got to punch in and you’ve got to punch out. That’s not right. You can only use the bathroom twice a day. I’m 61 years old. How are you going to tell me how to use the bathroom?”

Water Saver Faucet Company has not responded to the issue at this time, but the employees are not planning on keeping quiet, some undoubtedly using potty mouth, until there is an adequate resolution. Teamsters Local 730 is already in contact with Water Saver Faucet Company in regards to a 3-day suspension of an employee for not turning off her cell phone at work. When it rang, she was disciplined. Nicholas Kreitman, Teamsters Local 743 senior Union Representative responded:

“It’s a legitimate company policy to not have your cellphone with you on the shop floor, but if the enforcement of the rule is so draconian it becomes unreasonable, then we’re going to contest it. We don’t have (a progressive) disciplinary policy in the contract right now. We’re asking to put one in… where you wouldn’t have your first offense be a three-day suspension… unless there was some safety concern or something that would affect the machinery.”

A review of Water Saver Faucet Company’s labor contract revealed that contact between the workers’ collective representative and regulatory agencies was limited:

“Except in cases where there is a significant and immediate danger to the health or safety of an employee, the union will not contact OSHA [Occupational Safety and Health Administration], NIOSH [National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health] or any other such regulatory agency without first notifying the company in writing of the issue and providing the company with reasonable opportunity to respond to the issue in question,”

Unfortunately, holding one’s pee or poo can be a health hazard, according to the video below.

Both sides will meet to discuss the contract today, and will hopefully flush the bad experience away.

[Photo Courtesy: Gigaom.com]