As healthcare workers, we believe all Wisconsin residents, and indeed, in the USA, should have paid sick leave, but for those of us on the front lines, this is non-negotiable.

All of the evidence suggests that seniors, over 60, are more susceptible to this virus.

I work at one of these regional/national chains. When I went to work today for the first time in 3 days, there was no hand sanitizer provided, no masks, no gloves presented, no temperature taken of the people I work with or myself. I have been wearing gloves and using my own hand sanitizer for a week, then during my three days off, things changed dramatically. I have one coworker tell me he has a sore throat the second I walk in. I am absolutely livid at this point. You see, I take care of my elderly parents, especially my father who is in frail health. For the last three days ive worried to death about coming back to work, because I work with people who are all much younger, and honeslty still think this is all a joke. So I hoped it would somehow be ok, but I knew....These places, the people at top, including the managers at the stores, they arent going to have to grab a $20 bill from a guy that just coughed all over it. They wont see the sick people, then have to worry about going home to there elderly parents, they only care about one thing, money. Money, dirty disgusting money, possibly covered in bacteria, being brought back into a shop of people that think that this is still a joke. Well, it didnt take me more than 2 seconds to go home when offered to go. Now, I dont know where I'll get money, because I dont even know if I have a job still. I had to make a decision right that second, my parents health or my money....I chose my parents. I shouldnt have to worry now about my job, about going to work to get sick. To bring it home to my parents. If every person could actually be 100% safe and cared, maybe these places would be fine to have open, but they are not, they still dont care, and are dangerous right now. Please help the elderly and people that do care about this, and shut these places down!

According to the UN, hazard pay is “a form of compensation granted to staff members who have been requested to remain and report for work in duty stations where very hazardous conditions, such as war or active hostilities, prevailed and where the evacuation of families and nonessential staff had taken place.” Employees are experiencing elevated anxiety and fear as they continue their regularly scheduled shifts at the eye of the pandemic storm, especially those who are considered at-risk. Hazard pay would go a long way in terms of increasing morale and knowing their employers recognize the hard work and health risks they face amid this global crisis.

In many stations, management has not so much as read a safety talk about health risks during this pandemic and how to minimize them. No significant steps of any sort have been taken to ensure the safety of employees or customers. A memo sent to station managers and supervisors on March 13 claimed that “ “the immediate health risk from COVID-19 is considered low for the general American public.” This is grossly irresponsible and must be corrected immediately. The CDC and other public health officials have made it clear that everyone should stay home and avoid contact with others as much as possible. By continuing to work as normal, postal employees are put at great risk of contracting the virus and/or spreading it to customers. If the Postal Service fails to act swiftly and boldly, many employees and customers alike will die as a result, and countless more will suffer illness. The gravity of this can hardly be overstated. We must therefore take the above steps to keep the most vulnerable people out of high risk situations entirely, and ensure the greatest care is taken for all others. There is simply no excuse for failure to do so. Given the risk that all employees are taking by continuing to work in a viral pandemic, the great stress the situation puts on them and their families, and the extra time and care that is demanded by safety precautions in their daily work, time and a half hazard pay should be the minimal compensation for those who continue to work. Finally, it is outrageous that employees who are required to work in such a high risk situation should be forced to take leave without pay if they contract the virus as a result. USPS as an employer must take responsibility for the risks it forces upon its employees, and guarantee their continued pay during illness.

-A safe working environment. Please take some initiative to either shut down your stores completely or limit interactions between employees and customers by only utilizing the drive thru area instead of using the lobby area during the outbreak of COVID-19. -Livable wages. While I cannot speak to the kinds of pay offered at corporate locations, I can speak out about the franchise location I work at. People are given bare minimum wages. I work with people who have not had raises in YEARS. Shift managers at my location start off at $8.50/hr. When crew members are not paid fairly and management positions are not awarded with fair wage increases, employees do not have anything to aspire to work towards and as a result are not enthusiastic to be “good” employees. When I was a general manager I was given a grossing annual wage of $31,200 a year (which was $600 a week, despite the fact I was expected to work 60+ hours regularly). Your employees deserve to be paid a living wage, regardless of their job title. If you can’t do that, then you shouldn’t be in business. Please take you pizza parties, $5 gas cards, and faux appreciation and shove it. -Paid sick leave. Employees should not be forced to come into work when they are sick out of fear they won’t be able to afford their rent/bills/groceries/childcare/etc. (probably because they don’t get paid enough in the first place). This is especially important now because families all across America are worried they will not be able to make ends meet during the COVID-19 outbreak if they have to miss work. -Access to healthcare. I cannot speak with certainty how healthcare benefits are handled at corporate store locations, though a quick glance at the Bojangles’ corporate page leads me to assume it is probably minimal. Employees at my location are not awarded any benefits, not even full-time or management positions. As general manager, there were several occasions when I was dealing with health complications and found myself with no insurance. When I reached out to the franchisees, I was met with excuses as to why they could not provide us with any insurance. If employees are using their bodies to do the work for you day in and day out, the least you can do is help ensure they get access to the healthcare they deserve. THE TIME IS NOW. People’s lives are at stake right NOW and Bojangles’ is sending a message that they value profits over people. Please do not underestimate the severity of this virus. It does not care how much money you make. Do not wait until the virus spreads further and things get worse. Show your employees and customers that you are committed to their well-being today. #PEOPLEOVERPROFITS #BOTIMEISOVER

According to the UN, hazard pay is “a form of compensation granted to staff members who have been requested to remain and report for work in duty stations where very hazardous conditions, such as war or active hostilities, prevailed and where the evacuation of families and nonessential staff had taken place.” We are in the middle of a global crisis. Trader Joe’s — and grocery stores at large — are ensuring our communities can safely and comfortably quarantine/self-isolate. But the workers stocking the shelves have not received any sort of security from Trader Joe’s corporate or ALDI, which owns Trader Joe’s, that we can be compensated for the essential service we are providing. Trader Joe’s offered to reimburse sick time for any worker who becomes ill for up to one week. That is insufficient — it requires workers to work until they get sick before they can receive any compensation for putting their lives in danger, and it does nothing to answer concerns of part-time or new crewmembers who don’t qualify for medical insurance should they become ill. Trader Joe’s proudly employs elderly and disabled workers, two demographics that are most at risk for becoming critically ill from COVID-19. Yet those workers can’t afford to avoid work and keep themselves safe. Grocery stores and hospitals are on the frontlines right now, but grocery store workers don’t have access to the same precautions and resources as hospital workers. Hazard pay and guaranteed closure pay provides security, comfort, and increased morale knowing our company has our backs.

We are a labor movement within Whole Foods known as Whole Worker. Just the other day, we exposed Whole Foods’ cruelty and indifference by asking struggling workers to donate their own hard-earned PTO to support one another while being owned by the richest man on the planet. Even in a time of international crisis, Whole Foods continues to show reckless disregard for our safety and chooses profits over life. Sadly, this is not a problem unique to Whole Foods and Amazon. It is in-fact the reality for retail workers all over the world. Therefore, we are calling on all Whole Foods team members and retail workers worldwide to join us in a globally organized sick-out happening on May 1st, 2020. Our leaders and executives believe that profits are more important than our health, our wellbeing and ultimately, our very lives. Join us on May 1st by calling out sick to work and show your leaders that profit is generated by the workers. Please sign this petition and share with your friends, co-workers and fellow retail workers everywhere. We also call on the AFL-CIO and CtW to begin organizing the unorganized and supporting this effort. Instead of donating millions of dollars in anonymous campaign contributions to corrupt politicians who continue to fail working class people, assist in the creation of a sick-out fund for non-union workers and support grassroots organizers fighting for a better world. Additionally, we call for our presidential candidates and other public officials vying for re-election to explicitly stand with us by guaranteeing to pass progressive policies that will improve working conditions and update labor laws, including a clear federal law against anti-union busting. We call for our elected officials to stop accepting dark money from powerful corporations to fund their campaigns to fuel empty promises. Workers in this country fought and died for the right to organize and a 40-hour work week. However, these have been taken away from us as global capitalism has ravaged the gains the labor movement achieved this past century. In the midst of this pandemic and as we stare over the edge towards ecological, political, and economic collapse, we will still continue organizing and fighting. We hope and know a better world is possible, and we know that we can achieve it. Martin Luther King once said: “The labor movement was the principal force that transformed misery and despair into hope and progress.” The coronavirus pandemic has made it clear to workers around the world that corporations are willing to sacrifice their morality and society as a whole for short term gains. All they want is to continue to exercise control to keep us silent. This is why workers need power in the workplace. It is time we flex. It is time we fight back. Please join us on May 1st, 2020. In solidarity, Whole Worker’s National Organizing Committee

UPDATE as of April 29: WeWork is making it increasingly clear that they do not care about the health and safety of their workers or members. Every WeWork location in North America is open and they plan to remain open in violation of many state and local stay-at-home orders. This petition is only one step to pressure WeWork to close. Please also report WeWork to your local Attorney General. In DC where I live, that's District AG Karl Racine, and DC residents can submit consumer complaints at https://doag-sandbox.force.com/dcoagcomplaints/s/. All petition signers in the United States, please take a minute now to look up your state or territory's Attorney General and file a complaint if WeWork is open in your area in violation of a stay-at-home order. Original text as posted March 15: WeWork can and must practice the leadership it claims in the coworking space by taking action now to protect both the physical health and economic health of its workers and members. Shared surfaces and especially shared kitchens are a major way the coronavirus spreads. Increasing routine cleanings is not sufficient to protect WeWork workers, members, and the people we share our homes with. Other coworking spaces are closing their doors out of a well-reasoned sense of responsibility to the public, and The Wing has announced it will not charge its members in their next billing cycle. Data coming out of countries with robust COVID-19 testing shows that many asymptomatic 20somethings are testing positive for the novel coronavirus, meaning they might not be concerned for their own health but they will spread the virus to others unless they practice social distancing. People like me in our 20s, 30s, and 40s who don't feel ill are exactly the people I've seen voluntarily coming to my WeWork these last few weeks, and while a week ago it wasn't widely understood how severe an impact healthy people going about our regular routines would have on the pandemic, we know now. Coworking is a threat to public health and cannot continue during the coronavirus pandemic. I'm a WeWork member in Washington, DC and have been since 2015. I've been going to my WeWork daily despite the mounting scientific evidence of the need for social distancing because I'm a sole proprietor and I rely on my daily walk to the office, the delicious coffee, my desk with its bright natural light, and the friendly faces to keep me sane and provide a little stability during the roller coaster of building my business -- which turns five years old this week! As a small business owner I can't afford to pay for services I don't use. WeWork, a multinational corporation that recently gave its failed former CEO a golden parachute worth hundreds of millions of dollars, can afford to do the right thing by its members and workers. Big companies like WeWork are absolutely capable of moving money around in order to simultaneously pay its workers and suspend membership fees. WeWork, do your part in preventing this public health emergency from triggering an economic collapse. If you choose to close now and do so with the physical and economic health of your workers and members top of mind, many fewer people will die, many fewer small businesses will fail, many fewer people will fall into poverty, and you'll probably get a pretty sweet PR boost too. No more excuses. Close all your offices now.

We as workers, especially immuno-compromised and vulnerable workers, are being forced to risk potential exposure to and spread of the Coronavirus while CEO John Butcher can continue working remotely. We should not have to choose between paying for essential food, rent and medical supplies and compromising social solidarity (a.k.a. social distancing) or exposing ourselves to further risks.

Closing Starbucks, during this pandemic of the coronavirus is crucial. The virus itself is airborne, and although washing your hands frequently, and disinfecting the store is helpful, that won’t prevent the spread of said virus. Both customers AND partners are at risk of catching and spreading the virus. At this point in time, there is no way to know who has the coronavirus, due to the limited number of tests. Suspending all business hours, until further notice, WHILE continuing to pay both hourly, and salary workers, would be beneficial to both customers & partners. Most Starbucks locations are strategically placed near hospitals and schools/universities. Although most schools have closed, most hospitals have not, and will not close. This leaves most partners exposed. While Starbucks have put new policies into play, that doesn’t mitigate the entire risk of catching the virus. Partners and Customers can display no symptoms, while still being able to transmit the virus to others. Instead of waiting until a partners has been exposed or catch the virus, closing all stores would prevent anyone from getting the virus. At this current time, partners are on the frontlines, potentially being exposed and spreading the virus, unknowingly. The moral thing to do, would be to suspend business, while paying partners, until there is a grip on the virus.

Hourly workers at the REI Co-Op are at great risk of facing termination should they call in sick during the novel Coronavirus pandemic. REI’s COVID-19 sick policy, revised on March 12, does little to protect its hourly assets from losing their jobs, should employees feel the need to call into work sick not knowing if they’ve contracted the virus or not. In fact, it offers workers so little protection, that there is cause for alarm that employees will be deterred from calling in sick, which could potentially place consumers and coworkers at risk. Most hourly workers at REI work part-time and are not eligible for healthcare or any real benefits. As a result, these employees are unable to afford the cost of seeing a doctor, or a visit to a nearby clinic for treatment, which further places their well-being, their livelihoods, and jobs at risk. Moreover, testing for COVID-19 remains inadequate in the United States. We are asking that REI members and all consumers stand together in support of protecting hourly workers from facing termination due to any company's sick policy, in a time when the novel Coronavirus has gripped our nation and the world with fear. REI is a leader in the outdoor industry and we are demanding that Mr. Artz, the CEO of REI, take the lead as REI’s Chief, to do more to protect its workers nationwide. Other companies will look to REI to see what policies it is implementing around COVID-19, so it is paramount that the policies REI is setting, be exemplary. Patagonia, another highly respected outdoor retailer, closed it stores and website operations at the day’s end on March 13, until further notice, to do its part in mitigating the spread of COVID-19, as well as to protect its workforce from contracting the virus. While operations are closed, all of Patagonia’s employees will receive pay. An extraordinary way for a company to live its values. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that it has now been declared a national emergency, it is not unreasonable for us to demand that REI do more to protect its loyal workforce. Until the novel Coronavirus has been contained, we are demanding that REI take these measures to protect hourly workers job security: 1) That all employees who call in sick be excused from work with pay, regardless whether they test positive for the virus. 2) That all sick time taken be excused, without employees having to use any of their accrued sick days or vacation time, retroactive to March 1st. 3) That all employees who are caring for sick family members (regardless if the illness is COVID-19 related), be excused from work with compensation, without having to use any of their accrued sick days or vacation time to cover their absence. 4) That all employees who are parents that need to stay home to take care of their children, due to schools or daycare closures because of COVID-19, be excused from work with compensation, without having to use any of their accrued sick days or vacation time to cover their absence. 5) That no doctors note be needed as proof of illness, because there are simply too many employees who cannot afford a visit to a doctor or clinic for testing. Moreover, accessibility to testing remains inadequate in the United States. 6) That the average weekly hours be preserved for all employees who call in sick, and whose benefits eligibility are determined by the hours they work. Currently, none of these measures are being implemented by REI, even though these were the words our CEO wrote to REI’s membership, in an email about COVID-19 and the actions that REI is taking; “We have modified our paid time off policies to ensure that our employees—including hourly retail employees—who miss work due to illness or to care for sick family members do not suffer loss of income or other benefits.” What this policy actually amounts to is shameful for a cooperative we all love and have grown so loyal to. "Mr. Artz, please revise this policy to reflect the true values of the REI Co-Op."