The CEO of Kroger is asking for grocery store workers to be labeled as "first responders" amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Yesterday, Rodney McMullen partnered with the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union to urge state and federal officials to classify those employees as "emergency personnel" so those working can get better access to protective gear while on the job.
McMullen noted, "Given the significant daily risk these workers face ... we are requesting our nation's leaders to assign a temporary designation of first responder or emergency personnel status for all grocery workers."
The company currently employees 460-thousand people across the country. About 20 states have extended emergency child care benefits to grocery store workers, and eight states have strengthened consumer-safety standards like requiring shoppers to wear masks.
Source:NPR
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