These days, going to the store to buy food and household staples is one of the only reasons most Americans are willing or allowed to leave their homes. People are also ordering far more of these goods online, so many of the biggest e-commerce sites are massively ramping up their efforts.
That means while much of the country has transitioned to working remotely, grocery and other essential large retail employees (many non-essential chains and smaller retailers are closing stores and laying off staff) have unexpectedly become front-line workers, helping their employers keep up with unprecedented, unrelenting customer demand in stores and warehouses.
In response, many retailers are under the gun to entice employees to stay on the job. A number of large national chains, for example, have already raised worker pay by $2 to $3 an hour for the next month or two, including Amazon, Walmart, Target, Costco, and convenience store chain Sheetz. Trader Joe’s has established a “special bonus pool” for store workers, while Walmart has offered associates special cash bonuses and early payment of first-quarter bonuses.
About a dozen of the largest retailers, including Walmart, Amazon and CVS, are also going on hiring sprees to find more help, as the entire country shops to stock and restock their pantries: The Wall Street Journal reported that these companies will look to hire nearly a half-million workers over the coming weeks.
Warehouse and retail workers start demanding protections: Shouldn’t companies have already provided it on moral grounds?
However, there have been many reports of front-line retail workers expressing fear of being exposed to COVID-19, either from co-workers in warehouses or customers in brick-and-mortar stores. Some have gone beyond sharing their concerns to organizing walk-outs and strikes to get their message heard: Amazon warehouse workers in New York City’s Staten Island and over 150,000 employees at grocery delivery service Instacart walked off the job yesterday.
Meanwhile workers at Amazon subsidiary Whole Foods planned a sick-out today to demand better protections, as hashtags including #GlobalSickOut #March31st spread widely on social media.
Are commerce companies doing all they can to protect worker health and safety, as well as tackle issues like sick leave?
For some essential retailers, this has become a monumental challenge, with mixed results.
Several have suffered public relations woes as a result of their efforts. News has circulated over the past couple of days, for instance, about multiple Amazon warehouse workers contracting the virus, while Trader Joe’s was forced to close two Manhattan locations after staffers tested positive.
At the same time, employees are critical of chains who refuse to close, saying they are not truly essential, like Guitar Center and Dillard’s, a Southern department store chain. Arts and crafts leader Michaels has kept many of its stores open, it says, to provide supplies to parents teaching homebound children. “We are here for the makers,” the retailer said in an email to one concerned customer.
Retailers that are taking action on behalf of employees see consumer support
Certainly, many retailers have taken significant action on behalf of their front-line employees. Idaho-based grocery chain Albertson’s plans to install protective plexiglass barriers in checkout lanes over the next two weeks in its over 2200 stores.
Amazon, meanwhile, says it has stepped up cleaning efforts in warehouses, eliminated in-person meetings during shifts, and staggered shift and break timing. Stop & Shop pharmacists are now wearing face visors.
Meanwhile, some areas have decided that retail associates should be treated as though they are front-line health personnel: Last week, Minnesota and Vermont officially designated grocery clerks as emergency personnel, similar to paramedics and nurses, to give them access to free childcare.
There is no doubt that retailers are facing an unpredictable, unprecedented crisis – one that will likely last for many months, if not longer. But experts say that the path for retailers is clear: They need to protect the health of their front-line associates.
That means, they say, expanding access to PPE (personal protective equipment); shortening hours; limiting the number of customers allowed in the store at one time; and other methods such as plexiglass dividers and markers to highlight safe spacing. Paid sick leave and access to health insurance/health care is a must.
After all, the retail workers manning the commerce front lines – allowing families across the country to access the food and household goods they need – are some of the biggest heroes of the pandemic crisis. Hopefully, all of the country’s leading retailers will make sure to make worker safety as big a priority as the customer experience.
