4 APRIL 23, 2020 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Rego Park Trader Joe’s employee claims management
lacks transparency with coronavirus information
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
AACEVEDO@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
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. 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
Trader Joe’s located at 9030 Metropolitan Avenue in Rego Park. Photo via Google Maps
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 top-notch 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.
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.
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