At least 30 grocery store workers have died from the coronavirus, and their colleagues are pleading for shoppers to wear masks and respect social distancing
- At least 30 grocery store workers have died from COVID-19 so far, and at least 3000 have symptoms or have been exposed, according to the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.
- Most grocery companies' sick leave policies require a positive COVID-19 diagnosis before benefits can be accessed, but COVID-19 tests are nearly impossible to obtain. As a result, sick workers are often still forced to go to work, and the true number of coronavirus cases in grocery stores is unknown.
- Workers are pushing the government to classify them as first responders so they can get priority access to testing and protective equipment.
- Workers are also urging shoppers to adhere to social distancing guidelines and properly dispose of protective gear instead of throwing it on the ground or in shopping carts.
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At least 30 grocery store workers have died from the coronavirus so far, and at least 3000 have stopped working because they've been exposed or gotten sick.
In a media call on Monday, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, or UFCW, told journalists that over 30 of its members had died from the coronavirus. UFCW, which represents about 1.3 million grocery store workers and food processing workers, is pushing for increased protection from the government for its members. The union is asking the CDC to classify grocery workers as first responders, and to give them priority for testing and protective equipment.
Those 30 deaths are only the ones the union has accounted for, said UFCW president Marc Perrone. There are many chains, such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, that aren't part of the union and aren't included in the data UFCW collects.
Corporations and the government alike have failed to protect workers, said Perrone. He pointed to Instacart as an example, where employees are required to obtain a COVID-19 diagnosis before they can receive sick leave. However, COVID-19 tests are in such high demand that it's nearly impossible to get a test, even if a patient shows moderate or even severe symptoms.
Dr. Eric Cioe-Peña, the director of global health at Northwell Health and an assistant professor at Hofstra University's Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine, told Business Insider that doctors are frequently forced to turn away patients for testing that they are certain have COVID-19. Hospitals reserve tests for only the most severe, life-threatening cases, meaning that the vast majority of cases go uncounted.
Most companies that have implemented the two-week COVID-19 sick leave policy required by the federal government also require employees to provide positive COVID-19 diagnoses before they can receive sick pay. That policy could potentially led stores to dismiss COVID-19 cases and be contributing to further spread of the illness and even worker death.
UFCW is also calling on consumers to change their behavior. As grocery stores attempt to implement safety measures like one-way aisles and distancing guidelines, workers say that many shoppers aren't taking those precautions seriously.
In a survey conducted by the UFCW of 5000 grocery store workers, 85% of respondents said they had seen customers violating social distancing guidelines.
Michigan Kroger employee Aaron Squeo told reporters during the call that one of his coworkers had recently died from COVID-19. Now, he still frequently sees customers flouting safety guidelines: ignoring one-way aisles, crowding workers to reach certain items, and coming into the store multiple times a day, often without any protective gear.
He encourages shoppers to spend as little time in the store as possible so as to minimize exposure for themselves and others. "Make a grocery list," said Squeo.
Customers also frequently leave used protective equipment in carts or on the ground, putting the grocery store workers who have to properly dispose of it at risk.
"Walk the extra three steps to the trash receptacle to throw away used masks and gloves instead of tossing them in your cart or on the ground," Gregg Finch, a longtime Stop-and-Shop employee in New York City, told reporters.
UFCW emphasized that the health of grocery store workers impacts the health of shoppers. If grocery store workers remain highly exposed to the coronavirus, so does the general public.
