8 THE QUEENS COURIER • APRIL 23, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
сoronavirus
Rego Park Trader Joe’s employee claims management
lacks transparency with COVID-19 information
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
aacevedo@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
An employee at the only Trader Joe’s in
Queens said there are fi ve other employees
who tested positive for COVID-19 —
but management only informed them of
the cases weeks aft er knowing they were
infected.
Th e 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.
Th e 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. Th e captain then briefl y mentioned
that four other employees, who
were on voluntary leave for three weeks,
had also tested positive.
Th e 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.
“Th ey’re just not giving a real time
frame for these cases,” the employee said.
“Th ey 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.”
Th e 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-traffi c 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 offi cial Trader
Joe’s website and learned the Rego Park
location at 9030 Metropolitan Ave. will
temporarily close on Th ursday, 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. Th ey’re putting people’s
lives at risk.”
Th e 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.
Th e Rego Park employee recalled how
workers had to fi ght to get management
to allow them to use gloves and how
they sent some people home for wearing
them, even aft er COVID-19 was named
a pandemic in March. Th e 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
fl ipped,” the employee said.
Trader Joe’s began enforcing employees
and customers to wear masks as of
Th ursday, April 16. Additionally, they
have implemented wellness checks prior
to workers’ shift s 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.
Th ey’ve also increased paid sick leave
and have allotted bonuses, aft er a group
of employees began a petition calling for
hazard pay during the pandemic.
Th e 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. Th ere 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 eff orts — 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
benefi ts the company already off ers 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, or
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 aff ord
to miss a day of work.”
Th e employee said that despite all of
this, they believe Trader Joe’s is a great
place to work. Th ey just want to start a
conversation, and have management be
more transparent in a time when clear
communication is most important.
“Th is 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. Th is 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 fi ne.”
Several stores in New York City and the
country have also temporarily closed for
cleaning. Th e Rego Park employee said
the closing dates listed on their website
disappear aft er the date passes.
Trader Joe’s did not respond to QNS’
requests for comment.
Photo via Google Maps
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8 8
“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.”
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