BOSTON (WHDH) - Sen. Ed Markey is joining Stop & Shop employees to demand management reconsider its decision to end hazard pay amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Stop & Shop recently announced that “appreciation pay” would end on July 4, despite the spike in coronavirus cases nationwide, according to Markey.
The United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1445 posted an online petition to get hazard pay reinstated.
A spokesperson for Stop & Shop issued a statement that read in part, “Stop & Shop saw levels of foot traffic and demand that were unprecedented, and associates worked long hours to keep our shelves stocked and to service our customers. As the states we serve reopen more fully and the supply chain strengthens, we are transitioning back to pre-COVID levels of customer traffic and demand.”
They added that in addition to appreciation pay, Stop & Shop has increased benefits to address COVID-19, including a flexible leave policy and an additional two weeks paid sick leave. Those benefits are still available.
Markey, UFCW Local 1445 President Fernando Lemus, and Stop & Shop employees plan to gather outside of Stop & Shop on Massachusetts Avenue in Dorchester at 3 p.m. Monday.
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