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Bradley Corporation, a manufacturer of commercial washroom fountains, plumbing fixtures, and related products, states the following *twice* (!) (the first time with the first word spelled "solid," the second time hyphenated) on the employment opportunities page of its Web site: "Preplacement Drug Screening and Physical required." After the second such statement, the following appears: "Only qualified individuals ("Team Players") need apply!" The nature of the drug test is unknown.
One wonders what those who run the company would say or do if one of America's founders--or any other thinking American who still values the Bill of Rights and human privacy and dignity--would apply for a job there. Companies that engage in drug testing for any reason except probable cause to believe that an individual employee is impaired *on the job* as the result of the use of drugs (including alcohol) and under any conditions except those designed to safeguard against "false positives" and to protect employee and applicant rights to privacy, due process, confidentiality, and an at least initial emphasis on rehabilitation rather than punishment really don't want people--they want scared little sheep. Preemployment drug testing is generally just one more way that employers, especially since the Reagan era, have been able to get away with "showing 'em who's boss."
What will be next? Will we return to the days of the company store, or will we next have to allow employers to install cameras in our homes to make sure we eat only the "right" foods, read only the "right" books, and, of course, not even dream of going to Web sites like this one? Don't laugh. That's very much what preemployment, blanket, and random drug testing are.
Wisconsin unfortunately has no laws regulating drug testing. In the late 1980s, its Legislature passed a bill that would have done that, but then Governor Tommy Thompson, a "pro-business" favorite of his many corporate and rich campaign contributors, vetoed it.
This proudly drug-free worker with almost 20 years of professional experience has never had to take a drug test, and does not plan to. If that's the equivalent of urinating in the face of companies like Bradley Corporation, so be it. "Just say no"--to preemployment, random, and blanket drug testing, or any drug testing without adequate safeguards for basic human rights!
If we stand up together to this sort of abuse of people's privacy and dignity, maybe we just might see this abuse end. What we really need is a strong, militant *white- and pink-* as well as blue-collar union movement.
The company also notes its preemployment requirements of a drug screen and physical examination in many of its employment advertisements, particularly for professional positions.
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