'Why, in industries like mine, are minimum-wage workers the only ones forced to keep exposing themselves to the danger of the pandemic?'
I work at a fast-food restaurant in Seattle ― a city recently displaced by New York City as the epicenter for the coronavirus outbreak in the United States. Since our store can do takeout, the chain sandwich shop where I work has been deemed “essential” and remains open. Our store is situated by some of the major hospitals in Seattle — Harborview and Swedish — and serves many of their medical staff and visitors.
Every day, I do the mental math: How close are our customers to us? Less than six feet? Definitely. Sometimes they are less than even one foot. How many times does someone touch my hand when I hand back their credit card or cash? More than 10 times within a single hour. How many delivery service people do I deal with in a day? Upwards of 20.
In the last three weeks, I saw a nurse coming in for her sandwich two hours after she ordered it and leaning against one of our dining room tables from exhaustion. She propped up her head as we remade her sandwich, and we had to call out her name three times once it was ready for her. She thanked us for working before leaving the store.
My boss informs me that those with corporate jobs at our company stopped working in their offices weeks ago, preferring the safety of their own homes, even before the state-mandated shutdowns. Why aren’t the people deciding that companies stay open putting themselves at risk, too? Why, in industries like mine, are minimum-wage workers the only ones forced to keep exposing themselves to the danger of the pandemic? Some days, I wash my hands so many times they turn bright red.
Sometimes an order comes in for one sandwich and we have 25 minutes to complete it ― so that’s easy. Sometimes orders come in for 25 sandwiches and we have minutes to complete them before a Door Dasher is yelling at us for the order ― so that’s not so easy. There are no unemployment options for those of us who still have a job but decide the risk of working it isn’t ultimately worth it. All we have is the decision to stay and pay our bills or the decision to quit and fall even deeper into debt than many of us already are. Most of us live paycheck to paycheck, with so little money ― if any ― left over that the thought of opening a savings account is laughable.
France Dernières Nouvelles, France Actualités
Similar News:Vous pouvez également lire des articles d'actualité similaires à celui-ci que nous avons collectés auprès d'autres sources d'information.
'Fast Grants' offer $500K for COVID-19 research, 48 hour turnaround - Business InsiderA group of tech billionaires is funding ‘fast grants’ of up to $500,000 for COVID-19 research, with every grant decision made in less than 48 hours
Lire la suite »
32 Things That'll Help Get Rid Of Pimples As Fast As PossibleThese work better than people telling us to 'just drink more water.' 😑
Lire la suite »
Coronavirus: Andrew Zimmern says Americans 'need to be using food as a prescription for better health’Andrew Zimmern, host of MSNBC's 'What's Eating America,' discusses COVID-19's impact on America and the food industry.
Lire la suite »
Samin Nosrat on Stocking Your Kitchen, Comfort Food, and Her All-New “Home Cooking” PodcastStar chef Samin Nosrat (CiaoSamin) has teamed up with Hrishikesh Hirway (HrishiHirway) to create Home Cooking, a podcast devoted to solving the woes of amateur cooks under lockdown. Here, the chef shares her go-to grocery tips and recipes:
Lire la suite »