Oregon grocery store workers feel left behind on COVID-19 vaccinations

PORTLAND, Ore. (KPTV) – Some essential workers, like your neighborhood grocery store, say they feel constantly pushed back into getting the vaccine, despite potential exposure to the virus every day.

United Food and Commercial Workers (TUAC) Local 555 represents 29,000 workers in Oregon and Southwest Washington; he says about 28,000 of them are essential. The union says it has been disappointed with Oregon’s vaccine rollout and wants the state to have chosen to prioritize essential workers in accordance with CDC guidelines.

The union adds that many of its members work in grocery stores or food processing factories and fear going to work and contracting the virus and bringing it home to family members.

“Although they are forced to come face to face with this virus every day, they have not been moved to the front of the line or near the front of the line when it comes to getting the vaccine. . So they run the risk, they continue to work and get coughs and have to deal with clients who don’t want to wear a mask, but they haven’t been moved to the proper level, ”said Dan Clay, president. of UFCW Local 555.

Oregon Governor Kate Brown said she listens to the concerns of essential workers, but asks them to be patient while educators are prioritized. The date by which essential workers should be vaccinated has not yet been set.

Clay says he was happy to see essential workers on a list of around 1.25 million people who will get the vaccine after the elderly, but still believes they should have been given higher priority.