Work without heat or quit!

[dendawg]

http://www.king5.com/topstories/stor....3153885b.html

Someone at this pizza shop forgot to turn off the heat, so now there is no heat, period. If anyone dares to complain, they're suspended for 2 weeks, and maybe fired.

That's not the worst part, though. The state labor board there can't/won't do anything because, "there is no law regarding the temperature of a room you have to work in, unless you’re working in extreme situations like cold storage or foundries."

[XCashier]

Holy cow, I'm going through nearly the same thing right now.

I've got a temp job working in a freezing cold warehouse, packaging seeds. No space heaters, nothing. I'm wearing three layers and wrapped in a comforter and I'm still freezing in there. They say there's nothing they can do about it.

Yet the office is heated.

I honestly don't know how much longer I can deal with it. Not only is it cold enough to see your breath, it's filthy dirty, rodent infested, and their safety record leaves something to be desired; I've seen them park the forklift with the forks up in the air!!!

We're stone broke right now, which is why I've put up with it for so long. They said originally it would be six weeks, now they're saying indefinite, but if it goes on much longer, I'm going to have to leave, for my own health.

I find it shocking that there is no law regulating the temperature of a workplace. Forcing your employees to work in such conditions (unless they know before they're hired that they'd be working in a meat locker and are given proper gear to work in) is mean.

[Sliceanddice]

well im with the workers should just walk out thing from the comments on the site, the cold temp would deter customers too and now with the press and showing the obviously miserness of the owners they are just prayying the workers walk off and dont come back arent they

[Lady Legira]

I don't think you could do this in the UK because of the The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992. Link This states that during working hours, the temperature in all workplaces inside buildings shall be reasonable.

Sounds like someone needs to take this up with the government or local authority that makes this kind of law and get something similar in place.

[XCashier]

the obviously miserness of the owners

Remember that scene at the beginning of A Christmas Carol, where Ebeneezer Scrooge berates Bob Cratchett for putting an extra lump of coal on the fire? That's what this story reminds me of!

they are just prayying the workers walk off and dont come back arent they

That could backfire rather spectacularly on the owners. As you said, the cold and the bad press would deter a lot of customers. And the ones who weren't deterred would be disgusted by the lack of service because all of the employees walked out. Nobody new would want to work for them, so basically, the owners screw themselves over because of a silly arguement over a thermostat!

They originally kept the thermostat at 55 F...that's not exactly comfortably warm either (though better than it is now). "Miserly" is much too kind a word for these people!

[JLRodgers]

They must have a really good exhaust fan.... or the pizza place I worked at had a really crappy one -- we had to run the air conditioning in the winter to keep it 78ºF!


Hmm.... my mom just made a comment.... if it's freezing in the store (literally).... wouldn't the food be cold by the time the people get it?

[Eric the Grey]

This just brings to light how little laws there actually are that side with the employees. Business can literally get away with way too much crap in my opinion. Workers are little more than slaves that, with the economy the way it is, have little or no options but to put up with it.

*climbs down off his soapbox*


Eric the Grey

[BookstoreEscapee]

“It doesn’t look good, but she’s my wife and my boss and she tells me what she’s going to do and I’m not going to argue with her,” said Benjamin.

Jeez, man, grow a pair and turn the heat back on!

I think all the employees should just quit en masse and all walk out together.