Ellen Willis Quote

The centerpiece of the cultural counterrevolution is the snowballing campaign for a "drug-free workplace" — a euphemism for "drug-free workforce," since urine testing also picks up for off-duty indulgence. The purpose of this '80s version of the loyalty oath is less to deter drug use than to make people undergo a humiliating ritual of subordination: "When I say pee, you pee." The idea is to reinforce the principle that one must forfeit one's dignity and privacy to earn a living, and bring back the good old days when employers had the unquestioned right to demand that their workers' appearance and behavior, on or off the job, meet management's standards.


"Hell No, I Won't Go: End the War on Drugs," The Village Voice (19 September 1989)


The centerpiece of the cultural counterrevolution is the snowballing campaign for a drug-free workplace — a euphemism for drug-free workforce,...

The centerpiece of the cultural counterrevolution is the snowballing campaign for a drug-free workplace — a euphemism for drug-free workforce,...

The centerpiece of the cultural counterrevolution is the snowballing campaign for a drug-free workplace — a euphemism for drug-free workforce,...

The centerpiece of the cultural counterrevolution is the snowballing campaign for a drug-free workplace — a euphemism for drug-free workforce,...