It's been over a year since our world was turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic. We all had to rethink both our work life and outdoor recreation; we had to find new child care options and adapt to online education; Many aspects of our society changed and we adapted. The one thing has remained constant throughout this pandemic was that grocery workers and other essential workers remained on the front line to take care of us. Since DAY ONE of shelter in place, grocery workers remained in the stores to provide us with the necessary food and supplies to weather this pandemic. Even with panic buying, they were there to ensure the shelves were stocked and that it was safe for us to get our supplies. This is why we are urging the Concord City Council to pass a hazard pay ordinance for large grocery employers in the City of Concord.

With dining options becoming problemic and many of us opting to do at-home cooking, large grocery chains have seen an increase of BILLIONS of dollars in profits. While some companies did provide hazard pay with fanfare in the beginning, all but a few unceremoniously eliminated this benefit just weeks into the initial shelter in place. Furthermore, Amazon and big business is urging the city not to adopt hazard pay. No grocery worker signed for the risks of COVID-19. Grocery workers are 20 times more likely than the general public of contractig COVID-19. That's 20 times more likely to develop serious effects and 20 times more likely to share the virus with the people they love most.

On March 30th at 6:30pm, the Concord City Council will be bringing hazard pay up for discussion. Join the Labor Council to say that we recognize grocery workers' sacrifices and that we urge the Concord City Council to initiate hazard pay for grocery workers during the pandemic.