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As the holidays approach – typically the busiest time of year for U.S. retailers – supermarket workers say they’re afraid to go to work as coronavirus case to skyrocket.
“COVID cases are exploding in California and across the country. Everyone who works in my store is afraid of getting infected, ”said Rachel Fournier, cashier and bagger for 16 years at Ralphs in Los Angeles, at a press conference organized by the United Food and Beverage Workers. trade (TUAC) Monday. “Despite the growing danger, it can sometimes take up to two weeks for us to be told that a colleague has tested positive.”
At least 350 UFCW members have died from COVID-19, including 109 grocery workers, according to the union, which represents 835,000 grocery workers at major chains including Ahold Delhaize, Albertsons and Kroger. More than 17,400 grocery workers have been infected or exposed to the virus, the union added.
“The absolute number is definitely much higher,” said Marc Perrone, UFCW international president. Large retailers are refusing to disclose how many of their workers have fallen ill or have died, he noted, with the union relying on local reports to pull the numbers together.
“One worker is already dead and two end up in intensive care,” said Janet Wainwright, who worked for Kroger in Yorktown, Va., For five years.
Store managers ask employees not to disturb customers who don’t wear face masks, and now keep the masks behind the service counter instead of offering them at the entrance to stores because they “fear that customers take too many masks, ”Wainwright said. “Kroger puts pennies first over the lives of employees and customers.”
Kroger no longer offers paid time off to employees who test positive for the coronavirus or who have been exposed to an infected person and need to be quarantined, she said.
Kroger, however, disputed that statement, with a spokesperson telling CBS MoneyWatch that the company continued to offer paid emergency leave to its workers.
“It’s scary”
Another concern for people working in retail as the virus increases – crowds. “Stores are getting more crowded as people stock up before the holidays or as customers prepare for a shutdown,” said Fournier, the worker at Ralphs, a Kroger-owned supermarket chain in California. “Efforts to limit traffic are not working and no effort is made to ensure that customers wear masks correctly.”
“We’ve had three checkouts in our store so far. It’s scary. It motivates people not to want to come in – to not want to spend their time for such a small amount of money,” Lisa Harris, cashier in a Kroger near Richmond, Virginia, said Monday in a separate Brookings Institute briefing. “There was a time when the only things that would generate the kind of numbers we see now were inclement weather ahead, or if it was the holidays. And now it’s everyday, ”said Harris, who earns less than $ 15 an hour.
Kroger said in an email that its “most urgent priority throughout this pandemic has been to provide a safe environment for our associates and customers while upholding our societal obligation to provide open stores, commerce solutions. electronics and an efficient supply chain so that our communities have access to fresh, affordable food and essentials. “
Since March, the company has invested more than $ 1 billion in additional compensation for its workers and by implementing safety measures, the Kroger spokesperson said. “Kroger’s total COVID-19 incident rate continues to track significantly below the rate in the surrounding communities where we operate,” the spokesperson said.
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