Kroger pushes to reclassify supermarket employees as 'extended first responders,' get them access to PPE
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A major grocery chain is joining the push to get its workers classified as “emergency personnel” or “extended first responders" amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Kroger, considered to be America’s largest grocery store chain, issued a joint statement with the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) International Union to address the issue. The goal of the movement is to urge state and federal government officials to reclassify the workers as they face daily challenges due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In the statement, Kroger Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen and UFCW International President Marc Perrone said that grocery workers play a critical role in their communities and “they must be protected.” (iStock)
In the statement, Kroger Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen and UFCW International President Marc Perrone describe how grocery store workers have been “working tirelessly to make sure that millions of American families have the fresh food and products they need.” In the statement, the two men say that the workers play a critical role in their communities and “they must be protected.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}KROGER HIRING MORE THAN 10,000, CHANGING STORE HOURS AS CORONAVIRUS SPURS PANIC BUYING
The statement continues: “Given the significant daily risk these workers face, we are calling on all of our federal and state leaders to take immediate action. Specifically, we are requesting our nation’s leaders to assign a temporary designation of first responder or emergency personnel status for all grocery workers. Make no mistake, this designation is absolutely critical as it will ensure these frontline workers have priority access to personal protection equipment like masks and gloves.”
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Kroger isn’t the only grocery chain working with the UFCW on this issue.
Fox News recently reported that Albertson’s, another major chain in the United States, had also teamed up with the union to get workers reclassified.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The UFCW also recently revealed that 30 of its members have died from COVID-19. This prompted the union to launch a campaign asking shoppers to take steps to protect workers from becoming infected.