A Message to Hannafords: Customers and workers are united for health and safety during COVID-19!
President of Hannaford, Mike Vail & CEO of Ahold Delhaize, Kevin Holt
A Message to Hannafords: Customers and workers are united for health and safety during COVID-19!
Have you been to the grocery store recently? Have you felt anxious waiting in lines outside the building? Have you been hyper vigilant to stay 6ft apart from fellow shoppers? Are you afraid you can’t properly decontaminate your head of lettuce after who knows how many hands have touched it? You are not alone. In the span of 4 weeks the COVID-19 outbreak has changed all of our lives. Grocery shopping has gone from an “I’ll get around to it” task to one of the only reasons you can leave your house.
At Hannaford, all of the workers, including those in the meat, seafood, and produce departments, baggers, people stocking shelves, and the friendly folks at checkout, are on the frontlines of the pandemic response. They became “essential workers” overnight, and are taking on risks to their health and safety and the health and safety of their family members that they never signed up for. Yet, Hannaford’s management and owners have been woefully negligent by failing to provide adequate safety measures for workers and customers. Moreover, due to unprecedented demand for groceries as people are confined to their homes, Hannaford has boasted a 50% increase in sales, while the grocery store workers who have not missed a day during this pandemic have seen no corresponding increase in their pay.
Hannaford is one of Maine’s biggest employers, with 63 stores and a workforce of over 8,500 hardworking Mainers. Their failure to respond adequately to this crisis puts all of us at risk, and they should not be allowed to profit at the expense of the workers who keep the stores running. If we are to flatten the curve, we need our essential work force to be safe, healthy, and treated with the respect and dignity that they deserve. That is why Hannaford associates are demanding hazard pay, overtime pay for increased risk of exposure, a universal paid time off policy, paid short-term leave for workers who are at a greater risk of hospitalization, priority COVID-19 testing, and better cleaning and safety practices across every store.
Customers are only as safe as the workers, and that is why we need to come together and demand that Hannaford step up their game. Not tomorrow, not next week. Workers deserve better conditions NOW!
This petition was initiated by workers and customers at Hannaford locations in Maine. We invite all workers and customers who support these demands to sign on. This effort is supported by the Southern Maine Workers' Center, and the Maine branch of the IWW.
Sponsored by
To:
President of Hannaford, Mike Vail & CEO of Ahold Delhaize, Kevin Holt
From:
[Your Name]
Hannaford Corporate Office
145 Pleasant Hill Rd, Scarborough, ME 04074, USA
(612) 991-8248
mvail@hannaford.com
Dear Mike Vail and Kevin Holt,
Hannaford is one of Maine’s biggest employers, with 63 stores, and a workforce of over 8,500. Your failure to respond adequately to this crisis has put all of us, workers and customers alike, at risk. The Hannaford associates across all departments are on the forefront of the pandemic response, and your leadership has been woefully negligent by failing to provide them just compensation, paid time off, and adequate safety measures.
In a March article, Mike Vail boasted about Hannaford’s 50% increase in sales since the pandemic struck. Also in March, parent company Ahold Delhaize was written up in SuperMarket News, lauded for the $10 million dollar pandemic relief package the company provided for communities across the country. CEO Holt is quoted as saying “Serving our brands’ associates and communities is one of our greatest calls to action at Ahold Delhaize USA, and we take to heart our responsibility during this time of need.” If this is true, why do the majority of associates work without adequate paid time off, paid family medical leave, or hazard pay? Why are you silent on the issues that matter most to your workforce?
If we are to flatten the curve we need this essential work force to be part of the solution, and as such treated with the respect and dignity that they deserve. That is why Hannaford associates are demanding hazard pay, overtime pay for increased risk of exposure, a universal paid time off policy, paid short term leave for workers who are at a greater risk of hospitalization, priority COVID-19 testing, and better cleaning and safety practices across every store.
Customers are only as safe as the workers and that is why workers and customers have come together to demand that Hannaford step up their game. Not tomorrow, not next week, workers need better conditions NOW! The attached petition was initiated by workers and customers at Hannaford locations in Maine. We invited all workers and customers who supported these demands to sign on.
Workers and Customers Demand:
-Hazard Pay
-$5 per hour increase in base pay for all employees.
-All shifts over 4 hours would qualify for overtime pay of time-and-a-half the employee’s regular wage due to the increased risk of exposure from the greater amount of time spent in close proximity to others.
-When possible, workers will be allowed to retain their average number of scheduled hours a week, based on the average hours they worked in the last fiscal quarter.
Earned Paid Sick Time
-During the state declaration of emergency, expand PTO for all employees.
-Base emergency PTO for 2 weeks of leave. This leave will be separate from employees’ regularly accrued PTO, and will not affect an employee's ability to use accrued PTO after the state of emergency is over.
-This emergency PTO is for immediate use, does not require a doctor’s note, and is not subject to the points system
.
-After all PTO is exhausted or at the option of an employee, employees will be able to take job-protected unpaid leave and will not be penalized in any way for doing so.
-Full & part-time employees will receive the same emergency benefits. All emergency leave benefits will be universal for all employees.
-Anyone who is currently taking unpaid time off that they had accrued for the calendar year 2019, should get that time back in the PTO bank.
Short Term Disability
-For employees who are deemed to be at a greater risk for COVID-19 based on CDC guidelines, who currently lack insurance, or who are in immediate proximity to loved ones at greater risk for COVID-19, must be allowed to follow precautions to limit exposure. These employees must be provided with leave paid at 2/3 of the employee's average weekly wage in the 2 quarters in the preceding 52 weeks in which the person's wage was highest for the duration of the state of Maine's declaration of emergency, or until June15th, whichever comes later.
Customer/ Worker Safety
-Advocate for grocery store associates to be recognized as emergency workers and get priority COVID-19 testing, following the orders for emergency responders.
After emergency is over
-Any raises received during the COVID-19 crisis are permanent, and all emergency.
-PTO benefits will exist in the event of another pandemic/ public health crisis.
This petition was initiated by workers and customers at Hannaford locations in Maine. This effort is supported by the Southern Maine Workers' Center, and the Maine branch of the IWW.