Social Distance Standout: Grocery Workers and Customers Take Action
Anonymous
For the past 5 years, I have worked tirelessly for Whole Foods Market, a grocery store chain owned by Amazon, the largest and richest corporation on earth. While Amazon has put forth various policies to supposedly keep us safe and compensate us for our hard work, I see through their minimal efforts. Their objectives are clearly meant to maintain a steady flow of revenue, get some positive attention from the media, and prevent labor from organizing or making demands.
It is clear Global Headquarters is experiencing a routine conflict of interest: taking the necessary measures to protect the health of its workers will disrupt their bottom line. Leadership at every location has different rules about who can wear masks (which are not supplied), and no protocol exists for customers and team members who don’t abide by the CDC recommended 6 feet of distance. My store has set a limit on the number of customers entering the store, but the rule is loosely enforced, if at all! As usual, the company refuses to allocate necessary resources toward the people that keep our stores running day to day.
Amazon has allowed us to take unlimited sick days during March and April. But there’s a catch - we would only be paid for 5 of them. As some of the lowest paid workers in the country, filing for a 40% pay-cut through unemployment will be devastating. Many of us will be unable to make rent, pay utilities, or put food on the table.
Amazon has given us an extra $2 per hour since mid-March. This amounts to roughly $48 per week after taxes. It is shameful for our employer to demand that we continue working during this crisis for less than $50 per week. COVID-19 is a painful and often lethal disease, and most of us would not be exposing ourselves to the risk if we were not bound by our financial burdens - skyrocketing rent, medical bills, and unprecedented amounts of student loan debt to name a few. This pandemic has proven something us workers have known all along - we are essential to society, and a living wage is long overdue. We need real hazard pay of time and a half for all hours worked, period.
Grocery workers and customers from different stores all over the city have decided to stand up to greedy corporations like Amazon. We are organizing a Social Distance Stand Out to demand we are treated with respect and given what we need most during this pandemic - real hazard pay, PPE, and paid sick and family leave. Customers are welcome to join too (maintaining social distance and wearing masks and gloves if you have). We are doing this not just for ourselves, but for the safety of our customers too, and we all need to stand together in this fight.
Please join me in asking what all essential workers are asking for and deserve! Companies and customers have been thanking us, but the only way that these conditions will change is with your help! Join us in this fight to protect ourselves and keep the world fed!
