‘Frontline workers are heroes.’
Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, that message has made its way into posters, TV advertisements and even billboards — yet frontline workers have seen almost no difference in pay. And though medical workers have access to personal protective equipment (PPE) by virtue of their industry, retail employees have not had that luxury.
Chances are you remember seeing some sort of message like ‘frontline workers are heroes’ by sometime around last summer or fall, in all likelihood being displayed by a parade or some other gathering that ironically defied social distancing rules.
However, companies have not changed their policies to reflect the image that they present to the public, and the number of frontline workers being paid extra is pitifully small.
To make matters worse, it isn’t for lack of trying on the part of essential workers. They have been vying and requesting fair compensation for their risks, including notable strikes from huge groups of Amazon employees.
However, that kind of organized effort hasn’t stopped because of people being paid more — it’s stopped because they’ve been fired off in droves.
In a move not seen since monopoly and trust–busting laws were introduced, corporations such as Amazon and Walmart have taken a fairly brutal stance on their employees making moves to unionize. Particularly when strikes have been attempted, they acted as though they were missing their shifts and let them go.
With competition for jobs at an all-time high, companies are under no pressure at all when it comes to refilling positions.
To make matters worse, workers have had to handle severely lackluster support from their employers in terms of PPE.
Up until this past fall, there were regular reports of medical workers being forced to reuse masks or using garbage bags to substitute for missing equipment. Retail workers, however, have largely been left to fend for themselves entirely.
The depressing thing about frontline workers not receiving additional pay for working during COVID-19 is that it is literally hazardous work.
According to the Department of Labor, “hazard pay means additional pay for performing hazardous duty or work involving physical hardship.” And physical hardship is considered “work duty that causes extreme physical discomfort and distress which is not adequately alleviated by protective devices.”
Sound familiar? Thought so.
You might recall how the CDC instructed that masks needed to be disposed of and not reused, and wonder what happened to that rule? Using and then throwing away a mask after going to the grocery store every once in a while doesn’t seem like a big deal, at least not until you also need a mask every time you go into work.
Consider this: a box of disposable masks is maybe $10 now, but what if you are particularly at risk and have no other job prospects? Even now that the market has stabilized, N95 masks are $2-5 each, which means that you would be dropping at least $10 a week on PPE — let alone the horrific prices that masks reached due to price gouging.
When COVID-19 has reached a manageable level, and we return to ‘normal,’ don’t let the ‘heroes’ be forgotten. Frontline workers risked their lives for free just so retail CEOs could take home a normal paycheck, and when this is over, they are going to need to be paid their dues.
Graphics by Katelyn Miller
