The Onion, the fake news site known equally for its amazing funny satire as its poignant social commentary, has been entertaining people and confusing others into thinking their content is real since 1988. In recent years, the Onion has evolved from simply print media, to audio and visual content, as well. In one of their recent series, Sportology, which parodies ESPN’s Sport Science, the company absolutely skewered the reported terrible working conditions that Brazilian construction workers faced while completing the venues for the 2016 Rio Olympics. 11 workers were killed over the course of the projects and there were many infractions reported that some workers had 23 hour shifts or worked 25 days straight.
You can watch the Onion’s video titled “How Do Construction Workers Push Their Bodies To Finish Olympic Stadiums On Time?” below. In it, you’ll see “construction worker,” Rodrigo, perform tasks in a climate adjusted laboratory. Not only did they crank the heat up to 105 degrees, they also pumped hundreds of mosquitoes into the test area and forced him to sleep inside a tiny and poorly ventilated dorm room.
Although the video isn’t real, it certainly brings to light many issues certain construction sites can face. Is the schedule always worth the health and safety of your workers? Is there more we can do to promote honest wages for those not only in our respective countries, but around the globe?
