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Grocery workers are key during the virus. And they’re afraid
AP ^ | April 6 2020 | JIM VERTUNO

Posted on 04/06/2020 1:55:32 PM PDT by rintintin

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Every day, grocery workers are restocking toilet paper, eggs, produce and canned goods as fast as the items fly off the shelves.

They disinfect keypads, freezer handles and checkout counters as hundreds of people weave around them, sometimes standing too close for comfort amid the coronavirus pandemic. Some work for hours behind clear plastic barriers installed at checkout counters, bulwarks against sudden sneezes or coughs that can propel germs.

They aren’t doctors or nurses, yet they have been praised for their dedication by Pope Francis, former U.S. President Barack Obama and countless people on social media, as infections and death counts rise.

From South Africa to Italy to the U.S., grocery workers — many in low-wage jobs — are manning the frontlines amid worldwide lockdowns, their work deemed essential to keep food and critical goods flowing. Some fear falling sick or bringing the virus home to vulnerable loved ones, and frustration is mounting as some demand better workplace protections, including shorter hours to allow them to rest, and “hazard” pay for working closely with the public.

(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: coronavirus; emptyhospitals; fud; hysteriamongering; swag
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Bump


81 posted on 04/06/2020 3:50:06 PM PDT by foreverfree
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To: Persevero
If they are afraid they can quit and be replaced by the unemployed who are not afraid.

Because there are so many open jobs today that they could take instead.

82 posted on 04/06/2020 3:50:37 PM PDT by Bubba Ho-Tep ("The rat always knows when he's in with weasels."--Tom Waits)
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To: Bubba Ho-Tep

I’d assume that many unemployed would be happy to get a job at a grocery store. Not all of course.

Unemployment is never easy.


83 posted on 04/06/2020 3:56:17 PM PDT by Persevero (I am afraid propriety has been set at naught. - Jane Austen)
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To: Persevero

I’m not talking about the grocery store’s ability to fill the job. I’m talking about the grocery clerk who is afraid of contracting the virus but more afraid they won’t find another job.


84 posted on 04/06/2020 3:58:52 PM PDT by Bubba Ho-Tep ("The rat always knows when he's in with weasels."--Tom Waits)
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To: Bubba Ho-Tep

“First off, the machines that make toilet paper are not the same as the machines that make newsprint.”

You don’t know how to play this game, do you? Doesn’t matter that these media Nazis can’t make TP out of newsprint. Shut these Nazi bitches down until they figure out how to make TP from newsprint.


85 posted on 04/06/2020 4:06:22 PM PDT by sergeantdave (Teach a man to fish and he'll steal your gear and sell it)
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To: Bubba Ho-Tep

Maybe the warehouses wouldn’t be so full if they’d send some to the stores.

Nothing but bare shelves in the stores I go to.


86 posted on 04/06/2020 4:32:24 PM PDT by DuncanWaring (The Lord uses the good ones; the bad ones use the Lord.)
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To: rintintin

What the heck is wrong the news media these days? So what if they are afraid. Of more interest to me is, are they acting with courage, integrity, resourcefulness, etc.? Why doesn’t the headline point that out?


87 posted on 04/06/2020 4:33:18 PM PDT by Left2Right (Keep America Great!)
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To: sergeantdave
Doesn’t matter that these media Nazis can’t make TP out of newsprint. Shut these Nazi bitches down until they figure out how to make TP from newsprint.

What other amendments would you like to see overturned?

88 posted on 04/06/2020 4:34:01 PM PDT by Bubba Ho-Tep ("The rat always knows when he's in with weasels."--Tom Waits)
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To: rintintin

I’ve been making sure I thank them when grocery shopping.


89 posted on 04/06/2020 4:39:40 PM PDT by McGruff (It came from China)
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To: Bubba Ho-Tep

“What other amendments would you like to see overturned?”

Straw man! Straw man!

How many more Soros Nazis do you want to see empowered to destroy America?


90 posted on 04/06/2020 4:41:15 PM PDT by sergeantdave (Teach a man to fish and he'll steal your gear and sell it)
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To: Bubba Ho-Tep

I see.

Unemployment insurance is of course a stopgap, for now.


91 posted on 04/06/2020 4:45:50 PM PDT by Persevero (I am afraid propriety has been set at naught. - Jane Austen)
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To: Persevero

Stating that they can be replaced.

A lot of Dem politicians are telling the essential workers that they being treated as sacrificial, with an eye to the November elections.


92 posted on 04/06/2020 5:02:43 PM PDT by redgolum (If this culture today is civilization, I will be the barbarian)
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To: Artcore

Amen. The crew at my local Burger King has always been very good and deserving of more appreciation than they get.


93 posted on 04/06/2020 5:06:17 PM PDT by Buckeye McFrog (Patrick Henry would have been an anti-vaxxer)
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To: redgolum

Well I don’t mean to feed them blue.

But as I said we aren’t a slave state. They are free to quit, look for another job, what have you.

Unemployment is wretchedly high right now. I believe that low risk unemployed folks might happily fill those jobs.

If they won’t then let the grocery stores raise wages, benefits and working conditions until they will.

Let the market work. I don’t think that’s a “blue team” motto.

Of course with all the shelter in place idiocy (mandating lawful businesses to shut that is) the market is really being hindered so there is that.


94 posted on 04/06/2020 5:20:30 PM PDT by Persevero (I am afraid propriety has been set at naught. - Jane Austen)
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To: LibertyWoman

I can’t wait to get back to normal.
The retribution is going to be biblical.


95 posted on 04/06/2020 5:28:20 PM PDT by Keyhopper (Indians had bad immigration laws)
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To: sergeantdave
How many more Soros Nazis do you want to see empowered to destroy America?

It's going to be a lot easier for them to do that once you've established the framework to shut down media you don't like.

96 posted on 04/06/2020 6:14:01 PM PDT by Bubba Ho-Tep ("The rat always knows when he's in with weasels."--Tom Waits)
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To: DuncanWaring; Bubba Ho-Tep

DuncanWaring wrote:

“Maybe the warehouses wouldn’t be so full if they’d send some to the stores.

Nothing but bare shelves in the stores I go to.”

Exactly.

Why the empty shelves?


97 posted on 04/07/2020 3:45:00 AM PDT by WildHighlander57 ((WildHighlander57 returning after lurking since 2000)
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To: Sicon

I won’t defend littering with the gloves, but I don’t blame people for being afraid; here in NJ we’ve had some people die with no underlying conditions, and they were in their 50s. Also, you watch people openly engage in unsafe behavior; it is keeping this thing around longer than necessary.

I’m working remotely, and will return when we re-open, but besides “personal protection equipment” (which I assume we’ll be supplying ourselves), I want the company to make sure these idiots clustering together knock it off.


98 posted on 04/07/2020 4:30:11 AM PDT by kearnyirish2 (Affirmative action is economic warfare against white males (and therefore white families).)
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To: Bubba Ho-Tep

The First Amendment protects opinion, not slander.


99 posted on 04/07/2020 4:50:31 PM PDT by DuncanWaring (The Lord uses the good ones; the bad ones use the Lord.)
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To: DuncanWaring
The First Amendment protects opinion, not slander.

First off, slander is spoken word. It's libel if it's printed. And there's plenty of recourse in the court system once libel has been committed. But there's this concept of Prior Restraint--you can prosecute someone for saying something, but you can't legally stop them from saying it. Now, if you want to live under a government that controls the media and only allows expression that they approve of, there's a long list of countries you might find more to your liking.

100 posted on 04/07/2020 4:56:52 PM PDT by Bubba Ho-Tep ("The rat always knows when he's in with weasels."--Tom Waits)
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