Tell Supermarkets They Must Do More to Protect Their Workers

From Oxfam America (http://www.oxfamamerica.org):

During the current coronavirus crisis, with many of us home-bound to do our part to slow the spread of the virus, grocery stores have become one of our key life lines to the outside world.

But the workers in these supermarkets are at the front lines of the pandemic, risking exposure and possible illness in order to serve us.

Many go to work every day because they need a paycheck and cannot afford to miss work. Seventy percent of retail cashiers are women – many of whom provide the bulk of unpaid care work at home as well. They stock the shelves and help us check out, yet too many do not have access to paid sick leave or proper equipment and training to protect themselves.

This isn’t right. Take action with Oxfam now at https://secure2.oxfamamerica.org/page/s/us-grocery-stores-protect-your-workers to tell supermarkets that they need to do more to protect these workers.

Through our Behind the Barcodes campaign, we’ve been shining a light on the policies and practices of supermarkets around the world and pushing them to treat the workers behind their food with dignity and respect.

Today, we are calling on US grocery stores to take crucial steps to ensure their workers remain safe and healthy. Specifically, they must:

Provide paid sick leave and hazard pay for all their workers. All workers must be able to stay home when they’re sick. Frontline workers must be compensated to keep our stores running. Some grocery stores are already on board, but all supermarkets need to ensure their workers have access to this crucial benefit.

Practice social distancing in stores and ensure all workers have proper protective equipment and training in order to stay safe. Supermarkets must take urgent steps to ensure that their workers are trained and protected while on the job, including limiting the number of customers in stores, offering free gloves and the most protective masks available, and installing plexiglass barriers at checkouts.

Talk to their workers to develop the best solutions. From cashiers to deli counter staff, supermarket workers themselves know the realities of their workplaces better than company headquarters do. They know what will work and what won’t. All grocery stores should immediately engage with workers, unions, and worker advocates to hear their concerns and jointly develop the best solutions to support them.

These might seem like simple steps, but we have seen many reports already of supermarkets that are not protecting their workers. The CEO at Whole Foods suggested that workers “donate” sick time to their co-workers who become sick. The company’s policy has since changed, thanks to pressure from activists like you. We applaud the efforts of allies organizing workers to fight for their rights before, during, and after this crisis.

Now let’s ensure all supermarkets put good policies into practice to protect workers and their communities. Add your name calling on supermarkets to take action now.

During this crisis, it is vital that we ensure that all people are treated with respect and dignity. Join us here and tell American supermarkets that their workers should get the vital support they deserve.