School of Nursing and Health Studies, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA.
United Food and Commercial Workers Union.
New Solut. 2021 Aug;31(2):170-177. doi: 10.1177/10482911211015676. Epub 2021 May 8.
Grocery store workers are essential workers, but often have not been provided with appropriate protection during the current pandemic. This report describes efforts made by one union local to protect workers, including negotiated paid sick leave and specific safety practices. Union representatives from 319 stores completed 1612 in-store surveys to assess compliance between 23 April 2020 and 31 August 2020. Employers provided the union with lists of workers confirmed to have COVID-19 infection through 31 December 2020. Worker infection rates were calculated using store employees represented by the union as the denominator and compared to cumulative county infection rates; outcome was dichotomized as rates higher or lower than background rates. Restrictions on reusable bags and management enforcement of customer mask usage were most strongly associated with COVID-19 rates lower than rates in the surrounding county. Stores that responded positively to worker complaints also had better outcomes. The union is currently engaging to promote improved ventilation and vaccination uptake.
杂货店员工是必不可少的工作人员，但在当前的大流行期间，他们往往没有得到适当的保护。本报告描述了一个地方工会为保护工人所做的努力，包括协商带薪病假和特定的安全措施。来自 319 家商店的工会代表完成了 1612 项店内调查，以评估 2020 年 4 月 23 日至 2020 年 8 月 31 日期间的合规情况。雇主通过工会向工会提供了截至 2020 年 12 月 31 日确诊患有 COVID-19 的工人名单。使用工会代表的商店员工作为分母计算工人感染率，并与累计县感染率进行比较；结果分为高于或低于背景率两种情况。限制可重复使用的袋子和管理层对顾客戴口罩的执行情况与 COVID-19 发病率低于周围县的发病率最密切相关。对工人投诉做出积极回应的商店也有更好的结果。工会目前正在参与，以促进改善通风和提高疫苗接种率。
