Supporting Essential Retail Workers

Supporting Essential Retail Workers

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Working people keep our economy and our communities working all the time, but COVID-19 pandemic threw into stark relief which workers are truly essential. From day one grocery and pharmacy workers found themselves on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic—stocking shelves, cleaning stores and ensuring that our communities have access to the food and medicine they need to survive.

MO JWJ Member organization United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 655 has thousands of members working in these industries throughout the Eastern half of Missouri. This spring local 655 called on MO JWJ to put public pressure on Governor Parson to designate these frontline retail workers as ‘first responders’ throughout the pandemic, giving them priority access to free child care, testing, medication and personal protective equipment.

We called and emailed our base in March and April, producing more than 300 signatures on a petition to the governor. Unfortunately Governor Parson failed to take action, but we will be there to ensure that the health and safety of Missouri’s Working Families are protected.