The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Still essential, and still at risk
For the past eight weeks, Connecticut has asked tens of thousands of workers in the state much more than they ever bargained for. During a health emergency that almost no one expected or was quite prepared for, authorities deemed many retail workers as essential and asked them to stay on the job while most of us remained confined to our homes.
Claire is one of these workers. For the past three years, Claire has worked for a well-known pharmacy chain in the Connecticut River Valley. A quiet job, selling last-minute groceries and paper products and helping fill prescriptions; the kind of worker that represents the backbone of our economy, but often does not receive the recognition they deserve.
Coronavirus changed that overnight.
The store became a sudden hive of activity, an essential lifeline for its community. Staffing, however, was scaled back, and Claire found herself working often with a skeleton crew. They heard from management about receiving extra pay or a bonus during an emergency, but weeks went by without any additional compensation. Traffic was higher than it had ever been, and demand for many products required constant restocking. She found herself working longer shifts and little support; she only received protective equipment once the state mandated its use. Some of her colleagues became sick with symptoms of Coronavirus. At one point, Claire was sidelined after she felt unwell, and tested for COVID-19. She had to stay home without pay until she received the results.
For the past few weeks, we have heard many stories like Claire’s. Essential workers asked to stay on the job, often forced to work longer hours with little to no notice, not knowing if their missing coworker stayed home to take care of a child or because they are sick with corona. Cashiers, store managers and warehouse workers that saw how their jobs quickly became unnerving, risky, almost dangerous, living in the shadow of a dangerous infection. The vast majority of them stayed on the job despite all their concerns, for little or no extra pay.
Claire’s situation is in fact far from unique. Last month, we conducted a small survey among retail workers in our state. It was a small sample, not a scientific poll, but the stories the 164 workers that responded told us made clear that we might have called these jobs essential, but we have been far from treating them as such. Twothirds of respondents had not seen any extra pay at all during this public health emergency. Almost three-quarters had been asked to make last-minute changes to their schedule at least once a week. With schools closed, they scrambled to get childcare, run errands, make sense of their lives. More than a third stated that they cannot decline a shift without fear of retaliation.
The most worrisome aspect of these working conditions is that they are not new. In fact, they are entirely consistent with what we heard from workers before the health emergency, occupying the same jobs, doing the same essential tasks that draw so much praise now but went barely noticed three months ago. Low pay, little recognition, unstable schedules, little control of their lives. These past several weeks we have praised their commitment and appreciated how important they are to our communities. They kept our communities together facing risk every day at work, even though they did not sign up for it. In return, only some of them received little compensation while essential retail stores saw higher profits.
As Connecticut slowly reopens and learns to live with the virus, we should keep these workers in mind. Some retail stores have already decided to discontinue small pay increases, yet retail workers will still face the same risks. Our state must fight to ensure that things do not go back to the old normal. Not for them.
The workers that have been essential during the health emergency will remain essential after it. If we value their work, if we respect what they have done for us these last few months, we should ensure that their jobs provide them with the financial resources and stability they need. No more last-minute scheduling, changing shifts and sitting by the phone not knowing when they will be called it for work. No more staying a bit longer with little regard to the needs of their families. No more loud praise and recognition for less than a living wage.
The average wage for a cashier in Connecticut is $11.73 an hour. If we care about them and rely on them as much as we say they do, it is time to make sure they also have a job they can rely on, with predictable hours and decent pay.
Some retail stores have already decided to discontinue small pay increases, yet retail workers will still face the same risks.