Billy arrives at work sometimes up to an hour early, and cuts his breaks short, to assure he meets his quota. "My break is 15 minutes, but I usually take a 10 minute break...so I can keep up." Coming in early for his shift, he prepares for the work he has to complete on his machines - preparation time done during working hours can delay his ability to reach a quota. He sorts things in the back, so he can be ready to go as soon as the clock starts on his shift.

The demanding pace can put some workers at risk of injury and cause them to take unsafe actions on the job.

Billy reports that some of the equipment and gear in the laundry plant can cause strains, cuts and injuries. He's been scraped by laundry carts that are falling apart, and gets sore legs from the mats the workers must stand on. "I get pain in my knee sometimes, swelling up...but I just get through the day."

Supervisors often turn a blind eye to workers cutting corners in order to reach quotas, and sometimes even encourage it. Rather than focus on workers' safety and follow protocol, supervisors allow workers to unjam laundry from dangerous machinery instead of calling a maintenance person to do it. Sticking limbs into jammed machines or entering into laundry equipment that has not been properly shut down could cause injury or death to employees.