Coronavirus Outbreaks Slam Grocery Workers In LA County

LOS ANGELES, CA — Supermarkets have continued to stay open throughout the pandemic, and essential workers — many from communities of color — have been hit with unprecedented coronavirus outbreaks, according to Los Angeles County health officials. Workers risk daily exposure on the job as they continue to keep businesses operating, despite rapid rates of transmission across the county.

The county is currently investigating ongoing outbreaks at 490 businesses, The Los Angeles Times reports. About a month ago there were 173 businesses with reported outbreaks, according to county data.

Although businesses remain open, health officials continue to ask the public to stay home to help stop the spread of the virus.

Large food distributors have been among the worst-hit essential businesses.

Contessa Premium Foods, 5970 Alcoa Ave., Vernon, which makes frozen meals, has had 57 staff members test positive for the virus, the county reports.

Mission Food Corps., 5505 E. Olympic Blvd., Commerce, has 81 staff members who have tested positive for the virus.

Costco Warehouse, Culver City #479, 13463 Washington Blvd, Marina Del Rey, has had 51 staff members test positive for the virus. Costco Warehouse, Santa Clarita #447, 18649 Via Princessa, Santa Clarita, has had 10 staff members test positive for the virus. Costco Warehouse, Woodland Hills #1205, 21800 Victory Blvd, Woodland Hills, has had 34 staff members test positive for the virus.

The grocery store chain Whole Foods has also had many employees infected with the virus.

As of Monday, 18 workers had tested positive at a Whole Foods Market at 14311 Ventura Blvd. in Sherman Oaks, according to county health officials. In Santa Monica, an outbreak at a Whole Foods Market at 2201 Wilshire Blvd., near 23rd Street, has left 11 workers sick. And at another store in Santa Monica, six employees have tested positive for coronavirus.

In West Hollywood, one Whole Foods worker described the pressure of having to enforce health guidelines at the store, including mask-wearing. He described an interaction this weekend with a customer who wasn't wearing his mask. When he asked the customer to put his mask on, the customer threw an entire pizza across the store in anger — all in front of his child.

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which represents 1.3 million food and retail workers, is calling on health officials to answer the urgent need to distribute vaccines to these workers as COVID-19 cases continue to increase.

Whole Foods workers have no union representation. In 2017, the company was acquired by Amazon in a $13.4 billion deal.

As the union for essential workers in grocery, meatpacking and food processing, UFCW highlighted the urgent need to distribute the vaccine to these workers, who are overwhelmingly from communities of color and on the front lines of the pandemic as COVID-19 cases skyrocket across the country.

“America’s essential workers in grocery, meatpacking, and food processing have been on the frontlines of this deadly pandemic since day one, putting themselves in harm’s way to feed our families during this crisis," UFCW International President Marc Perrone said in a statement Monday. "With COVID-19 cases continuing to skyrocket, hundreds of these essential workers have already died and thousands more are infected daily as they serve our country by keeping our food supply secure."

He praised a CDC advisory committee's vote on Sunday to prioritize essential workers and older Americans for the next round of COVID-19 vaccinations.

"As the largest union for America's essential workers in grocery, meatpacking, and food processing, UFCW applauds the CDC's advisory committee for prioritizing these brave men and women for access to the COVID-19 vaccine," Perrone said. "Protecting our country’s food workers is essential to keeping our communities safe and stopping future outbreaks in these high-exposure workplaces. CDC Director Redfield must recognize the vital role these essential workers serve by ensuring that they are among the first to receive access to the COVID-19 vaccine.”

Los Angeles County reported 13,315 new cases of COVID-19 and 58 additional deaths Sunday, along with another new record for COVID-19 hospitalizations.

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