‘They’re putting people’s lives at risk’
Rego Park Trader Joe’s employee claims management lacks transparency with COVID-19 information
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
An employee at the only
Trader Joe’s in Queens said
there are five other employees
who tested positive for
COVID-19 — but management
only informed them of the
cases weeks after knowing
they were infected.
The Trader Joe’s employee,
who asked to remain anonymous
in fear of losing their
job, said their captain sent the
crew an email on Wednesday,
April 15, with vague information
of the positive cases.
The email, shared with
QNS, focused on an employee
who tested positive but emphasized
the employee had no
symptoms while they worked,
and that they were not at work
for 11 days prior to testing positive.
The captain then briefly
mentioned that four other
employees, who were on voluntary
leave for three weeks,
had also tested positive.
The anonymous Trader
Joe’s employee noted that
the captain did not mention
a date or indication that the
store would be closed in order
to clean.
“They’re just not giving a
real time frame for these cases,”
the employee said. “They
should have told us these
things when they happened.
We’re all adults. If things are
bad, we all have thick skin and
we’ll deal with it. If someone’s
sick, tell us they’re sick.”
The employee, who’s
worked at Trader Joe’s for
several years, mentioned
the store was closed for what
management called a “full
store cleaning” on Sunday,
April 5, in addition to periodic
overnight cleanings to
prevent full store closures
— including one on April 15
in “high-traffic areas” of the
Rego Park store.
Prior to the April 15 email
from the captain, the employee
said another co-worker
“happened to look” on the official
Trader Joe’s website and
learned the Rego Park location
at 9030 Metropolitan
Ave. will temporarily close on
Thursday, April 23.
“My managers didn’t come
up and say, ‘Hey crew we’re
closing!’ in one of our huddles,”
the employee said. “It’s
unfortunate to hear. Trader
Joe’s hasn’t been proactive;
they’ve been reactive. It’s
dangerous for everyone who
works there and for our customers.
Trader Joe’s located at 9030 Metropolitan Avenue in Rego Park. Photo via Google Maps
They’re putting people’s
lives at risk.”
The national supermarket
chain recently made headlines
not only because of the
viral images of long lines with
customers waiting to shop —
at the Rego Park store, for instance,
the employee said customers
wait up to two hours in
a line that passes their parking
lot and extends from Trotting
Course Lane to Metropolitan
Avenue all the way to
Woodhaven Boulevard, rain
or shine — but also because of
workers expressing concerns
that not enough is being done
to keep them safe.
The Rego Park employee
recalled how workers had to
fight to get management to
allow them to use gloves and
how they sent some people
home for wearing them, even
after COVID-19 was named a
pandemic in March.
The employee said management
worried people would
feel uncomfortable seeing
the crew, known for their topnotch
and chipper customer
service, wearing gloves or
masks.
“Now that Gov. Andrew
Cuomo said we all have to wear
masks, that’s all flipped,” the
employee said.
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.10 COM | APRIL 24-APRIL 30, 2020
Trader Joe’s began enforcing
employees and customers
to wear masks as of Thursday,
April 16. Additionally,
they have implemented wellness
checks prior to workers’
shifts to ensure they don’t inadvertently
expose co-workers;
and reduced store hours;
suspended the use of reusable
bags. Trader Joe’s is installing
temporary plexiglass barriers
at all cash registers and
enforcing social distancing
measures.
They’ve also increased
paid sick leave and have allotted
bonuses, after a group
of employees began a petition
calling for hazard pay during
the pandemic. The Rego
Park employee said initially,
they gave them $2 per every
hour they worked based on a
month period from February
to March.
“But bonuses are taxed
at about 45 percent in New
York City,” the employee said.
“Some people received $150, or
as little as $81 added to their
checks. There wasn’t a single
person who was happy.”
Now, the employee said the
company has another method
of giving workers bonuses
during the pandemic that
won’t be taxed at the bonus
rate.
But with that petition,
organized by “Trader Joe’s
Union Coalition,” the company
grew concerned of possible
unionizing efforts — so much
so that it prompted a two-page
letter from Trader Joe’s CEO
Dan Bane, shared with QNS,
in which he calls their demands
“a distraction.” However,
Bane added that once
the pandemic is over, they’ll
have a union vote at any store
if 30 percent of crew members
want it.
But the Rego Park employee
believed the petition didn’t
call for a union, and that
unionizing at Trader Joe’s
ultimately “doesn’t make
sense” due to the benefits the
company already offers their
employees.
“I remember during our
team huddles, managers
would tell us, ‘None of you are
forced to be here, if you don’t
want to be,’” the Rego Park
employee said.
But the employee noted
that for many Trader Joe’s
workers, this is their only
source of income, so even if
they do want to stay at home
or self-isolate, they can’t.
“Prior to COVID-19, you
would come to work if you
had a migraine, fever, broke
a pinky,” the employee said.
“And they’re right, we aren’t
forced to be there, but what’s
the other option. I can’t afford
to miss a day of work.”
The employee said that despite
all of this, they believe
Trader Joe’s is a great place to
work. They just want to start
a conversation, and have management
be more transparent
in a time when clear communication
is most important.
“This whole experience
has been very strange,” the
Rego Park employee said. “It’s
even hard to wrap my brain
around the idea that we’re on
the frontlines. But that’s why
they need to give us the appropriate
tools. Give us more
than we need, even. This
company is making millions
every day. If we have to close
the store one or three times to
clean, or whatever, then that
should be fine.”
Several stores in New York
City and the country have
also temporarily closed for
cleaning. The Rego Park employee
said the closing dates
listed on their website disappear
after the date passes.
Trader Joe’s did not respond
to QNS’ requests for
comment.