***ANYONE who supports Trader Joe's Workers should sign this!***

April 18th, 2020 UPDATE TO PETITION:

As Trader Joe’s crew members, it has come to our attention that while some of us are actively risking our lives by showing up to work during a pandemic, many are not eligible for medical insurance coverage, hours have been cut, and still no one is receiving hazard pay for this service. Many of us have also been unable to work due to being high risk, or caretaking for others and won’t be able to afford insurance premiums on unpaid leave.

Until there is free medicare for all, we demand that ALL Trader Joe’s employees, regardless of hours worked and/or active status, receive free and full coverage of their medical benefits during this period of uncertainty as the pandemic continues.

As the company has not been giving hazard pay to its essential workers, we think it is only fair to:

1. Provide medical insurance to all current employees regardless of their work status, and

2. Cover insurance premiums due to higher risk nature of working, cut hours, and unpaid medical leave for those who cannot work.

In these unprecedented times, we cannot leave anyone behind. Especially when people are risking their lives to provide essential services to the public. We strongly urge you to support your employees in these times by making sure we are guaranteed health coverage no matter our health state or work status.

Sincerely,

Trader Joe’s Crew Members United

*Our coalition is a collective of crew members from stores in AZ, CA, MO, NY, TN, LA, WA and growing.

**If you are a Crew Member and would like support with writing a petition for your local store, please email tjscrewmembersunited@gmail.com

*** Like us on Facebook at "Trader Joe's Crew Members United" to get updates

ORIGINAL PETITION LANGUAGE:

In the midst of this global pandemic, grocery store workers are now - more than ever- considered essential workers. Trader Joe’s Crew Members and customers have been coming to stores every day, yet are not always provided the basic protections needed to ensure their safety and prevent the spread of COVID-19.

A group of Trader Joe’s Crew Members and supporters have made numerous phone calls to local TJ’s stores and corporate headquarters, asking that the corporate offices of TJ’s ensure the safety of crew members and customers by significantly increasing safety measures. These calls were met sometimes with movement in the right direction and other times with no movement at all. For example, one store’s crew were not allowed to wear gloves, despite CDC recommendations, until the first week of April. We believe basic safety measures should be required in all Trader Joe’s stores nationwide. While captains are given liberties to run their stores as they see fit, corporate offices must mandate basic safety protocol to ensure every worker’s safety during the COVID-19 crisis. Grocery workers are on the frontlines of this crisis. They should be treated as the essential workers they are, and be provided the working conditions and hazard pay they deserve.

Due to the lack of consistency across all stores, we have formed a coalition, Trader Joe’s Crew Members United, to ensure all Trader Joe’s workers are provided safe work environments and appropriate compensation during this crisis. Our requests are as follows:

1. Provide time-and-a-half hazard pay during the crisis, as workers are taking increased risk in coming to workplaces

2. Install plexi-glass shields at every register to protect both crew members and customers

3. Limit the number of customers entering stores at any time throughout the day, not just peak hours and guarantee hours for elderly and immuno-compromised customers only

4. Provide crew members with PPE, and provide proper training for crew members to remove and change gloves and masks often

5. Add floor markers to queuing areas to help customers maintain proper social distancing of 6 feet

6. Hand-washing every 15-30 minutes for cashiers, and encourage credit use at registers

7. Provide paid leave for employees who are at high risk of contracting coronavirus and/ or undergoing complications from the disease. This includes crew members who are immunocompromised or who have health conditions that make coronavirus particularly dangerous to them.

8. Continue mandatory shut downs of stores immediately for deep cleaning upon receiving confirmation of a positive COVID-19 test of a crew member. Provide two weeks of normal pay to all crew members at that store so they may self-isolate.

9. Mandate that customers bag their own groceries if using reusable bags.

10. Implement a "one way" only shopping route through the store to help enforce social distancing

11. Implement a system for customers to order/buy online and pick-up curbside to minimize in-store traffic

Since integrity is a core value of Trader Joe’s, it is time for all stores to incorporate these changes.  We want Trader Joe’s to rise to the Kaizen standards that our employees know and appreciate. We want to continue working for a company we’re proud of. Finally, we want all crew members to know that we have the right to engage in concerted actions without fear of retaliation and with the full protection of federal law. We fully expect Trader Joe's to respect these rights.

Trader Joe’s Crew Members United