header image

[Sign Up Now] to Receive Our FREE Daily SCVTV-SCVNews Digest by E-Mail

Inside
Weather


 
Calendar
Today in
S.C.V. History
July 12
1900 - Pacific Telephone & Telegraph establishes Newhall exchange; SCV gets first phone [story]
old telephone


Whole Foods

(CN) – Workers across America walked off the job Monday demanding better health benefits and worker safety precautions as the simple act of showing up for work has become more dangerous during the global coronavirus pandemic.

Workers for Instacart, a grocery and food delivery service, agreed to strike after a group calling themselves the Gig Workers Collective posted their demands Friday, saying thousands of workers are prepared to not fulfill the company’s orders if their requests are not met.

“Instacart has a well-established history of exploiting its shoppers, one that extends years back before our current crisis,” the collective said in its post. “Now, its mistreatment of shoppers has stooped to an all-time low.”

“When people work an hourly job, it’s suggested in many ways that you‘re unimportant or expendable — except you aren’t,” U.S. Representative Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., tweeted Monday in support of the strikes. “Everyone deserves safe work, paid leave and a living wage.”

The workers accuse Instacart, an app-based grocery-delivery service in the United States and Canada, of profiting enormously off the coronavirus pandemic without providing workers with meaningful pay, health benefits or the equipment necessary to perform their jobs safely.

“We will not risk our safety, our health or our lives for a company that fails to adequately protect us, fails to adequately pay us, and fails to provide us with accessible benefits should we become sick,” the collective said.

The threatened strike comes at a time when Instacart has gone on a hiring spree, promising to add approximately 300,000 new full-time employees in the next month to meet demand as U.S. consumers are increasingly afraid to go to grocery stores or other places where people congregate for fear of infection from the novel coronavirus.

Instacart said orders have surged by about 150% year over year in the last three weeks.

The San Francisco-based company said Sunday it will manufacture its own hand sanitizer and make it available via its website. The company also said it is making it easier for customers to set a default tip for delivery workers in its app.

The collective deemed the company’s concessions insufficient and is demanding an extra $5 per order and a minimum tip of 10% of every order.

In addition to Instacart’s labor woes, close to 100 Amazon workers walked out in protest of the sanitary conditions at one of the e-retail giant’s New York warehouses.

“How many cases we got?” asked one worker as they strikers filed out of the warehouse during the lunch hour.

“Ten,” came the reply, referring to the number of workers at the location who have tested positive for Covid-19.

The workers want the company to conduct more frequent and comprehensive cleanings of the warehouse and give workers paid time off while the work is being completed.

“We are working long, crowded shifts in the epicenter of a global pandemic, and Amazon has failed to provide us with the most basic safeguards to protect us, our families, and the public’s health,” said center worker Rina Cummings in a statement released by Athena, a coalition of union groups.

Threats of strikes have been spreading like the coronavirus has throughout the country as the pandemic picks up in intensity.

Whole Foods workers throughout the country are planning a “sick out” on Tuesday to protest inadequate health protections for workers, according to Whole Worker, a national union that represents the grocery store employees.

The strike is in response to the news that several workers have contracted the disease in New York City, Chicago, Louisiana and California.

“As this situation has progressed, our fundamental needs as workers have become more urgent,” the union said in a petition circulating on Monday. “Covid-19 poses a very real threat to the safety of our workforce and our customers.”

The workers are demanding more cleaning but also better paid leave benefits, including the option to get a full salary if the workers get sick and must self-quarantine for 14 days.

Whole Foods, Instacart and Amazon aren’t alone.

Sanitation workers in Pittsburgh threatened to walk off the job if their demands for more paid leave and health benefits aren’t met.

Workers at a poultry plant in Georgia run by Perdue Farms walked off the job this past Monday, demanding better pay and more protections from the coronavirus.

By Matthew Renda

Comment On This Story
COMMENT POLICY: We welcome comments from individuals and businesses. All comments are moderated. Comments are subject to rejection if they are vulgar, combative, or in poor taste.
REAL NAMES ONLY: All posters must use their real individual or business name. This applies equally to Twitter account holders who use a nickname.

0 Comments

You can be the first one to leave a comment.

Leave a Comment


Latest Additions to SCVNews.com
1900 - Pacific Telephone & Telegraph establishes Newhall exchange; SCV gets first phone [story]
old telephone
The Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency will hold its next regular board meeting on Tuesday, July 15.
July 15: Regular Board Meeting of the Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency
For its innovative new website, California Institute of the Arts has earned a 2025 Circle of Excellence Gold Award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.
CalArts Website Wins 2025 Circle of Excellence Gold Award From CASE
The National League of Junior Cotillions has announced the appointment of Brooke Wanberg as the new NLJC Director for the Santa Clarita Chapter.
Junior Cotillion Santa Clarita Chapter Now Enrolling Students in SCV
The Rancho Camulos National Historic Landmark Museum will host a special history event on Saturday, July 26, featuring the story of Mrs. A.S.C. Forbes and the creation of the El Camino Real Bells.
July 26: Rancho Camulos Hosts History Event, ‘The El Camino Real Bells’
The city of Santa Clarita has announced that due to the construction of the new Rink Sports Pavilion, the outdoor basketball courts at the Santa Clarita Sports Complex will be closed effective Friday, July 11 and remain closed until Aug. 21.
Outdoor Basketball Courts at the Santa Clarita Sports Complex Closed Until Aug. 21
The city of Santa Clarita's Concerts in the Park series, presented by Logix Federal Credit Union, at Central Park every Saturday evening from July 12 through Aug. 30, is back for its 35th year.
Enjoy Transportation Options for Santa Clarita Concerts in the Parks
Leon Worden of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society sits down with Andre and Renaud Veluzat, owners of the historic Melody Ranch Studio. This interview was first broadcast on SCVTV in 2014.
Legacy | Andre and Renaud Veluzat: Rebuilding Historic Melody Ranch Studio
2007 - Moore's sub sandwich shop, abandoned 2 years earlier, demolished as derelict building; now partially Newhall roundabout [story]
Moores sub shop
The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, in partnership with Harley-Davidson of Santa Clarita and LA Police Gear, will host a free ‘ETCH & CATCH' Catalytic Converter Etching Event 8 a.m.-noon on Saturday, July 19.
July 19: Free Catalytic Converter Etching Event
The California Department of Transportation has announced overnight closures along Interstate 405 through the Sepulveda Pass for k-rail installation.
Overnight Closures on I-405 for Pavement Rehabilitation Project
Do you know a child with special needs? The Santa Clarita Valley Special Education Local Plan Area and its member school districts actively seek out all individuals with exceptional needs, from birth to age 22, including infants and children attending private schools.
SCV School Districts Seek Children with Special Needs
The Old Town Newhall Public Library will host a Teen Game Day: Giant Games event, Wednesday, July 23, 3:30-4:30 p.m. at 24500 Main St., Santa Clarita, CA 91321.
July 23: Teen Game Day, Giant Games at Newhall Library
There are summer traditions and then there are Santa Clarita summer legends. For 35 years now, families, friends, neighbors and music lovers alike have gathered under the open skies of Central Park, 27150 Bouquet Canyon Road, Santa Clarita, CA 91350 to experience something truly special: Concerts in the Park, presented by Logix Federal Credit Union.
Jason Gibbs | Celebrating 35 Years of Music Under the Stars with Concerts in the Park
Family Customs will host a Hot Wheels & Die Cast Swap Meet, 8 a.m.- noon, Saturday, July 19.
July 19: Hot Wheels, Die Cast Swap Meet
The Triumph Foundation 2025 Gala will be held 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 7 at the iconic Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.
Aug. 7: Triumph Foundation 2025 Gala at the Peterson Automotive Museum
The Santa Clarita Artists Association will be hosting a Plein Air Outdoor Artmaking and public meet up Friday, July 18, 9 a.m.-noon at Marina Park.
July 18: SCAA Plein Air Artmaking at Marina Park
Carousel Ranch will host "Cowgirls & Crystals," 6-11 p.m., Friday, Aug 15 at the Oaks Club at Valencia.
Aug. 15: Carousel Ranch ‘Cowgirl’s & Crystals’
The city of Santa Clarita encourages interested and qualified residents to apply for an unscheduled vacancy position on the city’s Planning Commission. The unexpired term ends Dec. 31, 2026.
Applications Now Being Accepted for Open Seat on City Planning Commission
Wild Fork Meat and Seafood Market is hosting it's one year anniversary party, 2-5 p.m. Saturday, July 12.
July 12: Wild Fork’s One Year Anniversary Party
Students from Saugus High School and West Ranch High School represented the Hart District at the Future Business Leaders of America National Leadership Conference in Anaheim from June 29 to July 2.
Hart District Students Excel at FBLA National Conference
After exhausting all administrative processes, the city of Santa Clarita has announced its intent to file a lawsuit seeking an injunction against an illegal sidewalk vending operation that has repeatedly violated local permitting and public health regulations.
City to Pursue Legal Action Against Illegal Sidewalk Vendor
The Master's University women's volleyball team, the defending GSAC champion, which finished the season ranked No. 25 in the NAIA last year, has released its fall 2025 schedule.
TMU Women’s Volleyball 2025 Schedule Released
The Master's University 2025 women's soccer schedule has been released, and it features a season opener against a familiar foe, and a pair of new conference opponents.
Mustang Women’s Soccer Releases 2025 Schedule
SCVNews.com