I'm not disagreeing with your assertion (though I do expect it's not as widespread as news articles make it seem), but...why didn't they vote to unionize then? Seems like if the unions said "we'll make sure you get bathroom breaks", then that'd be enough.

But I think this is a clear example of an issue where pro-union rhetoric has diverged from the reality of the situation. Are there any workers who actually prefer formal, timed bathroom breaks over the "go whenever you want as long as you're meeting your productivity goals" model?

What?? I don't mean "formal, timed bathroom breaks". I don't even think that exists in the real world. I mean they don't have enough leeway in their incentive system, to the point where workers have to pee in bottles out of fear of missing quotas and losing their job

You're universalizing something that's by all accounts a very rare occurrence, which I think is again part of the disconnect. If union organizers go around saying "we have to pee in bottles because they don't give us restroom breaks!", that's not going to be very persuasive to the vast majority of Amazon workers who take breaks to use the provided restrooms.

The peeing in bottles is just one of many symptoms of their terrible working conditions https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/feb/05/amazon-wo...

Isn't that a bit misleading? I don't have official bathroom breaks either, and I do just fine.

What? I don't mean scheduled bathroom breaks, I mean they aren't given enough leeway during the day to even use the bathroom. There are many reports of them peeing in bottles and shitting in plastic bags.

I certainly agree with you that those stories are shocking and horrific, those reports were about delivery drivers, not warehouse workers, so it’s not really relevant to this particular discussion.

The warehouse workers have similar issues, according to stories I've heard they can get reprimanded for using bathroom outside of lunch or one 15 minute break per shift.

These are stories few and between. Literally hundreds of thousands of employees wouldn't remain quiet for not allowing bathroom breaks.

You're pursuaded by anecdotal evidence of certain incident that may have happened. It is difficult to believe hundreds of thousands of workers around the world working in Amazon warehouses have not enmasse complained they can't go to bathroom.

This is a media-driven narrative. Squeeky wheels make more noise.

The peeing in bottles is just one of many symptoms of their terrible working conditions https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/feb/05/amazon-wo...