
Pennsylvania factory team clocks out after 28 days of live-in work for masks - MilnerRoute
https://www.pennlive.com/coronavirus/2020/04/pa-factory-team-clocks-out-after-28-days-of-live-in-work-making-coronavirus-protective-material.html
======
surfmike
“ To accommodate the dedicated workers, the company gave them an increase in
wages and provided beds, kitchens, groceries, internet access and iPads, WPVI
reported.” Bravo! I wish all our essential workers called to do extra work
were treated like this.

~~~
OrgNet
Around here minimum wage workers were declared essential and fired if they get
infected.... Thanks Florida

~~~
godzillabrennus
Florida = America’s trailer park

Georgia, “Hold my beer”.... “let’s open er back up”...

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timerol
One thing the article doesn't mention: What's next for the facility? Is this a
shift change, with the next group cycling in for another 28-day shift? Or do
they intend to go back to normal shift work, with people heading home at the
end of each day? Or have they created enough raw material for now to go into a
shutdown? It's an interesting decision point, so I'm curious which direction
they took it.

~~~
gmp3
The local news says "The group gets a week off before returning to a normal
workweek."[0]

[0] [https://6abc.com/braskem-america-marcus-hook-pa-
pennsylvania...](https://6abc.com/braskem-america-marcus-hook-pa-
pennsylvania/6115590/)

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hnburnsy
Nice contrast to the 'We are living in a failed state' submission from
yesterday...

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22938990](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22938990)

~~~
SQueeeeeL
Why is this a nice contrast... having to require workers to live in a single
location for 28 days to meet demand is not ideal, having stockpiles would be
an actual solution.

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iandanforth
Super interesting but I want to know where they sit in the supply chain. When
they're done, where does the material go? Where did the finish product end up?
And not in general, but specifically.

~~~
asdfadsfgfdda
From my estimate, they produce plastic resin in pellet form. Imagine a
material that is like coarse plastic sand.

If you are making a respirator mask, another factory will take these pellets,
heat it to melting, and basically spray the hot plastic to form a sheet with
very fine plastic fibers. Because the fibers need very specific properties,
they probably use a custom plastic resin, not a regular commodity resin.

If you are making protective clothing, a different factory will take the
pellets, heat it to melting, and slowly extrude it through a nozzle. Once you
get a sheet, you cut it to size, and maybe glue some different pieces
together.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6V0w-ajtN8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6V0w-ajtN8)

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paulcole
Meanwhile VC funded bozos asking, "Can i expense my lunch at home?"

~~~
canada_dry
> "Can i expense my lunch at home?"

You're getting downvoted, but that sadly does reflect the mindset of some
clueless entitled participation-trophy-winning employees I know.

~~~
thelean12
They should get downvoted. Their example is certainly the extreme case, but
the principle that employees shouldn't complain about seemingly small things
is completely and utterly wrong.

This is a perfect time for companies to take advantage of the situation by
cutting pay, perks, promotions, etc. Employees should absolutely push back.

~~~
paulcole
> This is a perfect time for companies to take advantage of the situation by
> cutting pay, perks, promotions, etc.

Why is this the perfect time? Is something going on that is affecting the
entire world economically?

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kwhitefoot
Inspiring! This is the sort of news that should be in front page headlines.

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tom-thistime
Folks in the plant, the rest of us all owe you a lot of beer.

~~~
Pfhreak
No, we owe them good working environments, high wages, good benefits, time
off, relief from their mortgages and rents, health care, voting rights, access
to education, etc.

I'm sure a few cases of beer would be nice as well, but let's remember that
it's the workers who made all those masks and by taking care of those workers
we've helped our society as a whole.

~~~
blast
Why lead with "No"? Dude was just trying to say something nice, and you end up
agreeing with him anyhow.

~~~
aspenmayer
Not OP, but he's emphasizing that the increased compensation should be of a
different kind rather than of a different degree (of the same kind, one may
assume).

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save_ferris
It says a lot about mindset between various classes when Silicon Valley
billionaires are building huge self-sufficient retreats in New Zealand to hide
out in when civilization collapses[0] and working class folks are willing to
stay at the factory for a month in order to get essential goods out the door
in order to prevent said collapse.

0: [https://www.npr.org/2020/04/22/840906009/author-tours-the-
en...](https://www.npr.org/2020/04/22/840906009/author-tours-the-end-of-the-
world-from-prairie-bunkers-to-apocalypse-mansions)

~~~
natalyarostova
It's not particularly interesting or productive to compare the best of one set
to the worst of another.

~~~
save_ferris
The “worst” of that set includes names like Zuckerberg, Thiel and even Sam
Altman, among many others.[0]

I’d be willing to bet that a pretty significant percentage of the tech elite
have taken serious steps like this, this clearly isn’t a small set of obscure
players.

0: [https://www.inquisitr.com/3950643/billionaires-are-
building-...](https://www.inquisitr.com/3950643/billionaires-are-building-
bunkers-in-new-zealand-prepping-for-the-apocalypse/)

~~~
nickff
I don't understand why hedging against long-tail events is 'bad'. They bought
large quantities of supplies, and hired a bunch of people to build them
facilities which could be of benefit in the event of a catastrophe. The
tradesmen doing the building were probably happy to do the work, and I am sure
the supplies provided a number of manufacturing and administrative jobs. I
don't see a problem; unless you think this pandemic was caused by bunker
construction.

Is buying a lot of insurance also evil?

~~~
Retric
Traveling to those bunkers could spread the virus. Just stay home is a
completely viable option.

Some basic risk analysis shows the trip increases risks and is therefore a
dumb move even if the idea of a bunker could be useful in other situations.

~~~
jeromegv
Did any of them actually travelled to their bunker? Or are you blaming them
for something that didn't happen?

~~~
techsupporter
According to published reports, yes:

[https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/e2-80-98we-needed-to-
go...](https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/e2-80-98we-needed-to-
go-e2-80-99-rich-americans-activate-pandemic-escape-plans/ar-BB12V3En)

