We have fought with corporate to close the doors to the public

Anonymous

I work at an auto parts retail store on the East Coast. Our corporate higher-ups, safe at home, force their employees to work during this pandemic. 

My workplace is able to remain open only on a technicality. They falsely claim we directly help the medical, health, food, EMS, police, and telecommunication companies. We do not directly help those companies. Corporate has opted to shut down their headquarters, yet keep their retail doors open to the public without any cleaning products or hand sanitizer, which they claim they are providing us. They are not, and we have to buy our own supplies. We are working in an unregulated, hazardous environment, with no PPE provided by the company. No pay coverage if you choose to quarantine yourself. No hazard pay if you choose to expose yourself by working. 

We have fought with corporate to close the doors to the public. Or to provide curbside pick-up and delivery to commercial customers only. We have contacted our District Manager regarding the lack of PPE, and the fact that we are outside of safety regulations called for. We were first told to allow three customers in at a time. Now we are being told by corporate to open the doors completely and allow the public in. I have since contacted a lawyer in regards to these unsafe procedures we are being asked to carry out. 

We have reached out to our mayor, Mayor Martin, who has forwarded everything to our governor, Governor Murphy. Their inaction shows that the government is more concerned about them than they are about the people. We need to stand up to corporate bosses. At this point I am looking into starting an Advance Auto Parts Union. One does not exist yet.