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Comment by matte_black | Hacker News Reader

It’s downvoted because it’s a classic story that always seems to come up whenever these kind of union articles appear.

Want to emphasize how bad workers have it? Just tell people they’re pissing in bottles!

The reality is no, workers aren’t pissing in bottles. At least not on a regular basis anyway, and not because they were forced. If they were, it means they’ve been drinking tons of water. But how would they have time to drink so much water if they supposedly don’t even have time to take a bathroom break?

Awareness of your own bodily functions is just a part of life. One that people take for granted, until it puts them in a difficult situation. There was once a time on my way to work I got stuck in a bad traffic jam and had to shit really bad. Eventually, there was a point where I realized I wasn’t going to make it and started rummaging through the backseat for any kind of bag.

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The reality is no, workers aren’t pissing in bottles.

Fifteen seconds on Google turned up an unofficial forum for UPS workers. Pissing in bottles appears to be extremely common. From perusing a few threads on the topic, the zeitgeist appeared to be "everyone does it, but if you leave your piss bottles in the truck after your shift then you're an asshole".

https://www.browncafe.com/community/threads/what-do-you-do-w...

https://www.browncafe.com/community/threads/urine-bottles-in...

https://www.browncafe.com/community/threads/urine-bottles-le...

https://www.browncafe.com/community/threads/urine-bottles.36...

Perhaps they feel an undue pressure to do something like this. There are some people in these threads that definitely find it out of the norm. [0] It very well could be people who simply don't stand up for themselves particularly well. I find it really difficult to believe that they lack the time/ability to use a gas station bathroom. Some routes may not have public restrooms, but I'd be willing to bet these are few and far between. They would most likely be rural routes, where you could get some privacy much more easily anyway.

It is also possible people actually prefer to do this rather than stopping frequently and dealing with the hassle of finding a place, parking, running the risk of it being a single restroom and already being occupied.

[0] https://www.browncafe.com/community/threads/what-do-you-do-w...

>But how would they have time to drink so much water if they supposedly don’t even have time to take a bathroom break?

What? Those are two distinct and not comparable things. Besides, being a driver can be pretty hefty labour and you'd be stupid not to be drinking lots of water while you work.

It's a classic story for UPS drivers because it's true, though it's actually more of a problem for FedEx drivers than UPS drivers.

And of course they're not pissing in bottles every day. The problem is that they don't have the time to take a rest break due to the unrealistic volumes of deliveries each driver is expected to make regardless of traffic, weather, or other conditions.

Exactly, the bottles are a clear and understandable symptom (literal, figurative, or somewhere inbetween) not the sickness they are trying to highlight.

You can drink water while driving. Awareness of your bodily functions is a part of life and so is empathy and understanding that your employees will need bathroom breaks while working.

I'm not sure if you've ever done physical labour, but you need to keep yourself hydrated over an 8 hour shift. Especially if you're working in 90 degree weather.

> But how would they have time to drink so much water if they supposedly don’t even have time to take a bathroom break?

You can drink water and drive at the same time.

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