Employees at Whole Foods are planning a “sick-out” on Tuesday after some Amazon warehouse workers walked out over concerns that the company is not properly protecting them from the coronavirus.
“Whole Foods employees will call in sick to demand paid leave for all workers who stay home or self-quarantine during the crisis, free coronavirus testing for all employees, and hazard pay of double the current hourly wage for employees who show up to work during the pandemic,” Vice News reported Monday.
Whole Foods gave workers a $2 pay raise when the outbreak began.
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“Since we first announced the intent to do a sick-out, Whole Foods announced a temporary raise of $2 an hour, which isn’t enough. A bunch of us have already gotten sick,” one worker told Vice. “It’s very plausible that some of us will die for this job.”
The demonstration from Whole Foods will happen less than 24 hours after 100 employees walked off the job at an Amazon warehouse in New York on Monday, demanding similar benefits.
Employees have felt unsafe at work since discovering that a colleague tested positive for COVID-19 last week, the Washington Examiner reported.
