Hank Kennedy (Facebook photo)
Hank Kennedy: "Management has been lax." (Photo: Facebook)
Grocery employees have been elevated to "essential" and "hero" status for working through this pandemic. But a few Metro Detroit grocery workers have died, heightening their safety concerns.
Hank Kennedy, 23, a seafood clerk in a Metro Detroit Kroger store, tells the online publication Left Voice that he feels unsafe.
"Management has been lax in enforcing common sense safety measures like requiring customers to wear face masks or limiting capacity in the store," he says. "Additionally, the one-way aisles that are supposed to promote social distancing are not enforced and are a complete joke."
He goes on to say his co-workers also share concerns "especially after someone in our e-commerce department tested positive for the coronavirus. We also heard that four Metro Detroit Kroger employees had died from the virus, which just increased our collective fears. There was one guy who worked the front end who’s a total Trump supporter and thought the whole thing was a hoax, but even he’s wearing a mask now."
Kennedy also is unhappy that Kroger is ending a $2-an-hour hazard bonus.
"Kroger spent thousands and thousands of dollars on advertisements calling us 'heroes' while at the same time trying to eliminate our hazard pay, which expires on the 17th."
Kroger did not immediately respond to a call from Deadline Detroit for comment.