I stock shelves every night with no protection from coronavirus
Anonymous Target Worker
As Americans prepare for the spread of coronavirus, Target is smashing sales targets by over 30%. Waves of “guests” line up at the entrances, in the hopes of securing one of the few cases of toilet paper and paper towels. The grocery section, which makes up over 50% of sales volume in some stores, is being emptied every day. At my store, nightly freight loads can be equivalent to if not more than what we received during the Christmas season.
Frustratingly, the workers are being beat down as Target’s sales (temporarily) soar. Told by some that we’re lucky that we can keep working, we bear the risk of working in potential reservoirs of coronavirus. Target has done little, if not nothing, to prepare us or protect us.
In talking with my co-workers, the funny and frustrating war stories we had from just a few weeks ago when stocking toilet paper and sanitizer is giving way to anger as it becomes clear that Target “doesn’t care about us.”
We recently got the news that everyone’s wage is going up $2 an hour, following other regional chains as well as Wal-Mart offering their workers hazard pay. The immediate reaction among some of my co-workers was mixed -- it’s nice, but doesn’t change a lot. I didn’t find any enthusiasm. Admittedly, the 30 days paid leave for vulnerable workers is positive and I am glad that some of my co-workers are taking advantage of it.
As for the rest of us though, we have been provided little to no safety equipment, and worse, no training. As an overnight unloader and stocker, I have been stymied over how to properly and safely perform my job. No co-worker as far as I know is being very careful, not because we don’t care, but because we don’t know how to care. The system is complex enough that it mostly isn’t worth it to try. Closing stores at 9pm was a huge step, but it is far from enough. The latest change was to post signs on the backroom doors advising not to use our hands, but there is nothing about how to safely clock in and out, a device that every single worker touches several times a shift!
When it comes to operations, there is no attempt whatsoever to limit the potential spread of coronavirus from one step to the next. There’s no intent to ensure that trucks sit long enough for the virus to die on steel, plastic, and cardboard to prevent spread between distribution center and store. One person in the trailer touches every single box that goes to the sales floor. Every stocking vehicle is touched by multiple people between the backroom and the floor. Stocking merchandise requires the handling of a boxcutter and frequently a smartphone, neither of which are sterilized. How extensively should shelves be cleaned? If we accidentally touch our face, should we walk all the way to the HR room for the collective bottle of Purell the entire store shares? These questions are endless and none of us have the expertise or resources to address them.
Target suffers from a staggering lack of leadership, particularly at my store. The store director hasn’t said a word to us about the situation. The district manager was in just last week; his main issue? That overnight workers wearing headphones are causing a “safety issue.” The impending coronavirus pandemic was not his concern. This has left our team leaders as helpless as the rest of us. We are completely in the dark. Some locations may have taken a more serious approach, but my own store clearly has not.
In a conversation with one of my managers, I asked if they thought the store director really cared about the situation at all. They said, “He cares about stuff getting on the shelves. Maybe he’ll care once workers start dropping.”
The frustration is mounting among my team, but there’s no immediate outlet. There is a job to do, we get along, and we’ll make the best of it for now. When a co-worker tells me that “Target doesn’t care about us,” I now say, “They won’t care about us until we make them care.”
I have mentioned that we should just walk off the job in demand of better hazard pay, safety equipment, and safety training. They agree that it would be effective, but as I spoke with one of my co-workers, who has been with the company for quite a while, she said (correctly in my view) “I agree with you, but it won’t happen. We’re not united. And we’d all be fired.”
I whispered, “That’s why we should have a union…”
“Shh, don’t say that word! You’ll be fired, or at least they’ll watch you.”
“I know, that’s why now is the first time I’ve said that word out loud here.”
In the meantime, us overnight workers race to finish before the store opens and the crowd rushes in, leaving the overlapping shift of workers to face them in the aisles as they scramble to stock pasta, pizzas, and cheese – if there is any to stock.
