info
Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss
Truckers face 'dehumanizing' challenges finding washrooms on the road
7 views
Skip to first unread message
Michael Ejercito
Jan 18, 2021, 8:46:08 AM1/18/21
to
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/truck-drivers-denied-washrooms-1.5876587?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar
Social Sharing
Facebook
Twitter
Email
Reddit
LinkedIn
Lack of access 'so wrong on so many levels,' trucking federation CEO says
CBC News · Posted: Jan 17, 2021 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: January 17
Shelley Uvanile-Hesch, CEO of the Women's Trucking Federation of Canada
(WTFC), is now pushing businesses to open their facilities and for
carriers to stand up for their drivers. (Jonathan Castell/CBC)
175
comments
Truckers delivering essential goods during the COVID-19 pandemic are
facing a "dehumanizing" struggle to find open washrooms, one that could
lead to health concerns down the road, according to a national agency
that represents women drivers.
Many chain restaurants and local businesses that remain open have
restricted public access to their facilities, which means truckers
working 12-hour shifts may end up not using a restroom all day.
Shelley Uvanile-Hesch, CEO of the Women's Trucking Federation of Canada,
is now pushing businesses to open their facilities and for carriers to
stand up for their drivers.
One female truck driver, she said, told her how she'd been unloading at
a facility for six hours without being allowed to use the facilities —
and when she asked a third time, was given a roll of toilet paper and
told to go behind the building.
"This is very dehumanizing. It is so wrong on so many levels,"
Uvanile-Hesch said.
"Drivers are human beings, we're not dogs. We don't go outside. We
deserve to be able to go into a washroom like everybody else."
Drivers are human beings. We're not dogs. We don't go outside.
- Shelley Uvanile-Hesch, Women's Trucking Federation of Canada CEO
Truckers experienced this heavily during the pandemic's first wave,
Uvanile-Hesch said, and now they're going through it again.
She said not having bathroom access could lead to long-term health
effects like kidney disease and kidney stones.
The long haul: Ottawa trucker riding out pandemic on increasingly
inhospitable highways
'There's the bush': Truckers face challenges finding bathrooms, meals
'Alarmed:' Health critic calls for more data on COVID-19 in trucking
industry
"Imagine being a city driver in the [Greater Toronto Area] and you're
making your deliveries and you work a 13-hour day — and there's no place
for you to go to the washroom," she said.
In a statement Saturday, Natasha Tremblay, a spokesperson for Ontario's
Minister of Transportation Caroline Mulroney, called it "unacceptable"
that drivers have been denied access to public restrooms and urged
businesses to "step up and support" them.
"Our government is committed to supporting the trucking industry. Truck
drivers and commercial carriers have worked hard to keep goods moving
for the people of Ontario and it is unacceptable that some of them have
been denied washroom access," Tremblay said.
There are currently 50 truck stops with bathrooms open on the province's
highway network, Tremblay said. The province also plans to keep 18
seasonal rest area locations open, along with 31 truck inspection
stations and one tourist information centre.
The sites are in addition to the province's 23 On Route service centres,
she said.
'Have some compassion for us'
While drivers are used to going a long time without washrooms —
especially on trips through northern Ontario — designated spaces must be
created during the pandemic, said truck driver Brigitte Belton.
Belton, who's been driving a transport truck for the past six years,
said she spends between 11 and 14 hours on the road each day — and it
could be tough to continue on if businesses that are open keep refusing
bathroom access.
Even finding a bite to eat is difficult, she said, with many eateries
closing as early as 8 p.m. — and that can be grueling for drivers who
work long shifts that end late in the night.
"Basically anywhere you go and pick up or deliver, they're refusing
you," she said.
"We're driving your medicine. We're driving your food. We're driving
everything for you ... have some compassion for us."
Shuttered truck stops, restrooms make life on the road challenging for
long-haul drivers
How truckers are protecting themselves themselves in the COVID-19 pandemic
In many ways, truckers are keeping the economy moving, Uvanile-Hesch
said, and at some point the drivers may say "enough is enough."
"What are you going to do when you go to your store and the shelves are
starting to be empty? Because within three days, that's all it would
take if these trucks stopped moving."
Social Sharing
Lack of access 'so wrong on so many levels,' trucking federation CEO says
CBC News · Posted: Jan 17, 2021 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: January 17
Shelley Uvanile-Hesch, CEO of the Women's Trucking Federation of Canada
(WTFC), is now pushing businesses to open their facilities and for
carriers to stand up for their drivers. (Jonathan Castell/CBC)
175
comments
Truckers delivering essential goods during the COVID-19 pandemic are
facing a "dehumanizing" struggle to find open washrooms, one that could
lead to health concerns down the road, according to a national agency
that represents women drivers.
Many chain restaurants and local businesses that remain open have
restricted public access to their facilities, which means truckers
working 12-hour shifts may end up not using a restroom all day.
Shelley Uvanile-Hesch, CEO of the Women's Trucking Federation of Canada,
is now pushing businesses to open their facilities and for carriers to
stand up for their drivers.
One female truck driver, she said, told her how she'd been unloading at
a facility for six hours without being allowed to use the facilities —
and when she asked a third time, was given a roll of toilet paper and
told to go behind the building.
"This is very dehumanizing. It is so wrong on so many levels,"
Uvanile-Hesch said.
"Drivers are human beings, we're not dogs. We don't go outside. We
deserve to be able to go into a washroom like everybody else."
Drivers are human beings. We're not dogs. We don't go outside.
- Shelley Uvanile-Hesch, Women's Trucking Federation of Canada CEO
Truckers experienced this heavily during the pandemic's first wave,
Uvanile-Hesch said, and now they're going through it again.
She said not having bathroom access could lead to long-term health
effects like kidney disease and kidney stones.
The long haul: Ottawa trucker riding out pandemic on increasingly
inhospitable highways
'There's the bush': Truckers face challenges finding bathrooms, meals
'Alarmed:' Health critic calls for more data on COVID-19 in trucking
industry
"Imagine being a city driver in the [Greater Toronto Area] and you're
making your deliveries and you work a 13-hour day — and there's no place
for you to go to the washroom," she said.
In a statement Saturday, Natasha Tremblay, a spokesperson for Ontario's
Minister of Transportation Caroline Mulroney, called it "unacceptable"
that drivers have been denied access to public restrooms and urged
businesses to "step up and support" them.
"Our government is committed to supporting the trucking industry. Truck
drivers and commercial carriers have worked hard to keep goods moving
for the people of Ontario and it is unacceptable that some of them have
been denied washroom access," Tremblay said.
There are currently 50 truck stops with bathrooms open on the province's
highway network, Tremblay said. The province also plans to keep 18
seasonal rest area locations open, along with 31 truck inspection
stations and one tourist information centre.
The sites are in addition to the province's 23 On Route service centres,
she said.
'Have some compassion for us'
While drivers are used to going a long time without washrooms —
especially on trips through northern Ontario — designated spaces must be
created during the pandemic, said truck driver Brigitte Belton.
Belton, who's been driving a transport truck for the past six years,
said she spends between 11 and 14 hours on the road each day — and it
could be tough to continue on if businesses that are open keep refusing
bathroom access.
Even finding a bite to eat is difficult, she said, with many eateries
closing as early as 8 p.m. — and that can be grueling for drivers who
work long shifts that end late in the night.
"Basically anywhere you go and pick up or deliver, they're refusing
you," she said.
"We're driving your medicine. We're driving your food. We're driving
everything for you ... have some compassion for us."
Shuttered truck stops, restrooms make life on the road challenging for
long-haul drivers
How truckers are protecting themselves themselves in the COVID-19 pandemic
In many ways, truckers are keeping the economy moving, Uvanile-Hesch
said, and at some point the drivers may say "enough is enough."
"What are you going to do when you go to your store and the shelves are
starting to be empty? Because within three days, that's all it would
take if these trucks stopped moving."
Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD
Jan 18, 2021, 11:21:29 AM1/18/21
to
MichaelE wrote:
>http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/truck-drivers-denied-washrooms-1.5876587?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar
>
...
2 Chronicles 7:14
In the interim, I am simply wonderfully hungry (
http://bit.ly/RapidTestCOVID-19 ) and hope you, Michael, also have a
healthy appetite too.
So how are you ?
...because we mindfully choose to openly care with our heart,
HeartDoc Andrew <><
--
Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD
Cardiologist with an http://bit.ly/EternalMedicalLicense
2016 & upwards non-partisan candidate for U.S. President:
http://bit.ly/WonderfullyHungryPresident
and author of the 2PD-OMER Approach:
http://bit.ly/HeartDocAndrewCare
which is the only **healthy** cure for the U.S. healthcare crisis
>http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/truck-drivers-denied-washrooms-1.5876587?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar
>
...
>Lack of access 'so wrong on so many levels,' trucking federation CEO says
>CBC News · Posted: Jan 17, 2021 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: January 17
>
>Shelley Uvanile-Hesch, CEO of the Women's Trucking Federation of Canada
>(WTFC), is now pushing businesses to open their facilities and for
>carriers to stand up for their drivers. (Jonathan Castell/CBC)
>
...
>CBC News · Posted: Jan 17, 2021 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: January 17
>
>Shelley Uvanile-Hesch, CEO of the Women's Trucking Federation of Canada
>(WTFC), is now pushing businesses to open their facilities and for
>carriers to stand up for their drivers. (Jonathan Castell/CBC)
>
In the interim, I am simply wonderfully hungry (
http://bit.ly/RapidTestCOVID-19 ) and hope you, Michael, also have a
healthy appetite too.
So how are you ?
...because we mindfully choose to openly care with our heart,
HeartDoc Andrew <><
--
Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD
Cardiologist with an http://bit.ly/EternalMedicalLicense
2016 & upwards non-partisan candidate for U.S. President:
http://bit.ly/WonderfullyHungryPresident
and author of the 2PD-OMER Approach:
http://bit.ly/HeartDocAndrewCare
which is the only **healthy** cure for the U.S. healthcare crisis
Michael Ejercito
Jan 18, 2021, 9:57:55 PM1/18/21
to
Michael
Andrew B. Chung, MD/PhD
Jan 18, 2021, 10:20:25 PM1/18/21
to
MichaelE wrote:
While wonderfully hungry in the Holy Spirit, Who causes (Deuteronomy
8:3) us to hunger, I note that you, Michael, not only don't have
COVID-19 but are rapture (Luke 17:37) ready and pray (2 Chronicles
7:14) that our Everlasting (Isaiah 9:6) Father in Heaven continues to
give us "much more" (Luke 11:13) Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) so
that we'd have much more of His Help to always say/write that we're
"wonderfully hungry" in **all** ways including especially caring to
http://bit.ly/ConvinceItForward (John 15:12 as shown by
http://bit.ly/RapidTestCOVID-19 ) with all glory (
http://bit.ly/Psalm117_ ) to GOD (aka HaShem, Elohim, Abba, DEO), in
the name (John 16:23) of LORD Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Amen.
Laus DEO !
Be hungrier, which really is wonderfully healthier especially for
diabetics and other heart disease patients:
http://bit.ly/HeartDocAndrewToutsHunger (Luke 6:21a) with all glory to
GOD, Who causes us to hunger (Deuteronomy 8:3) when He blesses us
right now (Luke 6:21a) thereby removing the http://bit.ly/HeartVAT
from around the heart
8:3) us to hunger, I note that you, Michael, not only don't have
COVID-19 but are rapture (Luke 17:37) ready and pray (2 Chronicles
7:14) that our Everlasting (Isaiah 9:6) Father in Heaven continues to
give us "much more" (Luke 11:13) Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) so
that we'd have much more of His Help to always say/write that we're
"wonderfully hungry" in **all** ways including especially caring to
http://bit.ly/ConvinceItForward (John 15:12 as shown by
http://bit.ly/RapidTestCOVID-19 ) with all glory (
http://bit.ly/Psalm117_ ) to GOD (aka HaShem, Elohim, Abba, DEO), in
the name (John 16:23) of LORD Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Amen.
Laus DEO !
Be hungrier, which really is wonderfully healthier especially for
diabetics and other heart disease patients:
http://bit.ly/HeartDocAndrewToutsHunger (Luke 6:21a) with all glory to
GOD, Who causes us to hunger (Deuteronomy 8:3) when He blesses us
right now (Luke 6:21a) thereby removing the http://bit.ly/HeartVAT
from around the heart
0 new messages