Boeing Closes 12 Factory Bathrooms

Newsday ^ | June 8, 2002 | HELEN JUNG -- AP Business Writer

[Willie Green]

SEATTLE -- It might not be a high-profile point of dispute like job security or pensions, but the Boeing Co. might have a new labor issue on its hands: lavatory lockouts.

Boeing this month closed and padlocked 12 bathrooms at its Everett factory -- part of an overall cost-cutting program to eliminate excess services and facilities since the aerospace giant has laid off several thousand people there. About 22,000 people still work at Boeing's Everett operation, mostly in the factory.

[Willie Green]

This is a perfect example of the absolute idiocy of beancounting management.

With a declining workforce, there is absolutely no reason to close restrooms to maintain a "people-to-potty" ratio in a bizarre attempt to control maintenance costs.

With reduced employment, bathroom usage is lower and one merely readjusts the janitorial schedule from once or twice a shift to something that is appropriately less frequent.

What moroons. Treat people like this and it's no wonder they unionize.

[RCW2001]

Almost tempted to bump this up to 'breaking news'... ;)

[Willie Green]

You know, even if the beancounters try to claim a "savings" because they can turn off a few flourescent lights in the bathrooms, they wind up losing productivity when the employees have to walk farther to get to a bathroom.

Moroons. Absolute moroons.

[bloggerjohn]

Looks like Boeing planes may become even "crappier." ;')

[bloggerjohn]

When costs are cut, people in non-essential positions work even harder to justify their positions, usually by imposing on people in essential positions. I bet the bathrooms in the Boeing office towers aren't being shut down. But then they don't actually build airplanes there.

[eFudd]

This is really hitting below the belt.

[lelio]

"It's not a hardship," he said Friday. "You always have complaints when there's change."
How much money did they spend on the study to find out what bathrooms to close? I'm sure they didn't have an accurate floorplan so that had to be redone. Couple of days / weeks in that. Then someone had to look it over. Then a committee to judge them all. Then someone to lock them up. Then p.o'ed employees. Yeah Boeing is a model company.

[habs4ever]

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[johnny7]

I worked for a publisher that shared a mens room with Lucent Technologies.

Me and my fellow male employees were astonished at the bathroom habits of these cretans.

Never flushed, left USA Today papers in the stall, took sponge baths in the sink and hung around amidst the stink to talk about work... loudly

There was one guy, we called him “the spitter”. At the urinal, he would do these stacatto spits “spt... spt... spt... spt...”, and he never washed his hands after.

After a year of this, I went upstairs where it was smaller but clean and smelled it.

Sorry if I grossed anybody out but I had to unload it! : + (

[Willie Green]

It's possible that management pi$$ed away their valuable time with that kind of bureacracy. It's also possible that some mid-level lemming merely exercised his/her "good judgement" and self-important authority to unilateraly decide which johns needed to be closed to maintain the "people-to-potty" ratio. (Only one meeting necessary in that scenario - with a bunch of underlings who bob their heads up and down.)

[Husker24]

I dont care what these people say, "a football field" is too damn far to walk to go to the can, what if a person were to develope explosive diarrea. Make one of those executives run 100 yards with the sh*ts.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

If the area of Boeing they closed these restrooms is in an unused area (i.e. a ghost town), then wouldn't it make sense? Why pay for something you don't use?

Does it say what area of Boeing these were closed down in? I didn't see it. Maybe the writers left it out intentionally.

[Willie Green]

If the area of Boeing they closed these restrooms is in an unused area (i.e. a ghost town), then wouldn't it make sense? Why pay for something you don't use?

They apparently aren't in unused areas if employees are squawking about it. People are squawking about the restrooms closest to where they work being closed, not something out in no-man's land.

[Willie Green]

Does it say what area of Boeing these were closed down in? I didn't see it. Maybe the writers left it out intentionally.

It's at the Boeing Everett factory.
Surely you don't expect the AP to publish floorplans for the building, do you?

[RedBloodedAmerican]

I worked at a company that in its building was the worlds largest machine shop. Larger than Boeings (Boeing has the largest building). They closed restrooms when they began cutting back people. Employees (mainly Union) biatched and moaned. Why? Because that's what they do. It didn't make sense to have open areas not used. And it didn't affect them, even though they claimed it did. I think the same thing is happening here (where I worked had agreements with Boeing), IMO.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

"Boeing factory" is like saying "Somewhere in New York".

[reg45]

It's possible that the "workers" are objecting to the closing of a few bathrooms in a possibly unused area.

Real reasons
• Wage negotiations are coming up soon
• Bathrooms in unused areas were being used for unapproved purposes, such as tobacco, alcohol or narcotics usage.

[Willie Green]

When costs are cut, people in non-essential positions work even harder to justify their positions, usually by imposing on people in essential positions.

Yeah, Boeing has undergone significant "downsizing" in recent years. Contrary to the rountine mantra about paring out the "deadwood" and "nonperformers", it is often the incompetent and well-camoflaged snakes-in-the-grass who manage to survive.

[Willie Green]

Bathrooms in unused areas were being used for unapproved purposes, such as tobacco, alcohol or narcotics usage.

Bathroom abuse is routine anytime such a facility is made available for use by a large number of people. It makes no difference whether it's in a "used" or "unused" area, factory floor or office, union or non-union environment.