What grocery store workers need: A union leader on how to help employees stressed by the coronavirus
Chilling stories have appeared putting a grim spotlight on the increasing danger faced by grocery store workers in Italy, which, up until now, has been the hardest hit by the coronavirus health crisis. The stories have detailed the tragic death of 49-year old Mariagrazia Casanova in the city of Brescia, but also the sometimes lax and haphazard implementation of social distancing and worker protection for supermarket workers throughout the country, and the increasing number of sick workers.
For these workers, there is a spreading and palpable sense of fear, vulnerability and helplessness as they perform their crucial jobs every day.
So much about the situation in Italy has foreshadowed what we are experiencing in the U.S., and now, we are seeing signs of a similar crisis at our own supermarkets.
As of this writing, supermarket workers in Denver, Oregon and Washington State have tested positive for COVID-19. Here in New York City, two Trader Joe’s supermarkets have suddenly faced temporary closures after workers at the Soho and Union Square stores became confirmed cases of the disease. The closures at these stores, which have seen huge increases in customer traffic since the onset of the crisis, highlight the dangers grocery store workers — performing their jobs in close quarters with other workers and customers — are facing, typically for low pay and benefits.
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