Store assaults are increasing at a faster pace than the national average. Some workers are fed up with fear of their safety.
There was a customer who trampled on the face of a private security guard. Then the person who set the fire in the store. A person who drank gasoline and a person who swung an ax. A drunk shopper who threw a can of soup at a worker. A shoplifter who hit the night manager’s head twice and shot his chest.
Then, in March 2021, there was a shooting at King Soopers Supermarket in Boulder, Colorado, which killed 10 people, including 3 workers. Another shooting killed another 10 people at a grocery store in Buffalo last month.
Colorado’s union president, Kim Cordova, said he had never experienced the level of violence that members face today in the grocery industry for 37 years.
Therefore, when she was negotiating a contract for 21,000 grocery workers in Colorado this winter, the usual wage and schedule issues were certainly at the table. But just as important, if not more, was safety.
“What happened at Covid?” Said Cordova, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers’ Union, Local 7. “People have changed. Sometimes I think I live in a Netflix movie. This can’t be real.”
The union negotiated a contract to ensure that workers have the right to protect themselves if customers attack them. This strongly acknowledges not only the violence that plagues many aspects of American society, but also that retail store employees are reluctant to continue turning their other cheeks into crime at the store.
During the early months of the pandemic, the store became a tinderbox for a society plagued by blockades, protests, and mask obligations. Many workers say that even if the pandemic tensions are relieved, the tensions will persist and more protection is needed.
According to an analysis of the New York Times’ FBI assault data, the number of assaults at many retail stores is increasing at a faster pace than the national average.
From 2018 to 2020, assaults increased by 42% overall. Grocery stores increased 63% and convenience stores increased 75%. Of the more than 2 million assaults reported to the FBI by law enforcement agencies nationwide in 2020, more than 82,000 (about 4%) occurred in shopping centers, convenience stores, and other similar locations.
last year, More than half, according to the FBI So-called active shooter attacks (attacks in which individuals with guns kill or attempt to kill people in busy areas) have occurred in commercial locations, including stores.
Jason Strachevsky, Vice President of Government and Political Affairs at the National Retail Federation, said:
Tracking a retail store theft is more difficult, as many prosecutors and retailers rarely charge a fee. Still, some politicians seized a brave shoplifting viral video to portray left-wing city leaders as vulnerable to crime.Others have blamed the industry Exaggerated terribly He suffered losses and warned that theft was being used as an excuse to roll back criminal justice reform.
“These crimes deserve to be taken seriously, but have been weaponized prior to the midterm elections,” said Jonathan Simon, a criminal justice professor at the University of California, Berkeley Law School.
Political debate about the extent and causes of crime is swirling, but many store staff say retailers are too tolerant of crime, especially theft. Some employees want more armed guards who can play an active role in stopping theft, as airlines have tough relationships with unruly passengers. , More stores want to ban violent or violent customers forever.
Store employees have begun to capture episodes of violence against workers or between customers on their mobile phones to pay attention to the problem. The selected video was shared with the Times by a person who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation by his employer.
By design, stores can be the catch basins of the most serious social challenges, such as homelessness and gun violence. And until these issues are resolved more widely, it is difficult to reinforce the space where the general public is encouraged to roam freely and shop.
This crime is, in many respects, a by-product of the modern retailer’s business model of placing goods in open store openings to invite shoppers to buy more. According to workers, profits have increased due to headcount reductions and increased automation, but crime has become more prosperous.
“These criminals feel like they own a store,” said Tony Settles, a Safeway clerk in downtown Denver. “The best way to fix this is accountability.”
Settles, 60, recently jumped over a customer service counter and shouted at a man who stole a carton of cigarettes. The man swore to him and then left the supermarket undisturbed.
Employees usually lose their jobs when they physically stop or confront shoplifters. This is a policy aimed at protecting employees from harm. However, Settles, who belongs to the Local 7 Board of Directors and is trying to warn about the lobby to enhance employee safety and security, as this policy could seem to lead to more crime. Mr. says.
“If an employee steals a candy bar and gets caught, they’ll be fired,” said Settles, who has worked in the grocery industry for 40 years. “But there are shoplifters coming here and stealing buggies full of tides. They leave and we tell them not to come back. But they will come back a few days later.”
In a statement, Safeway said: “Protecting our employees and customers is our number one priority, so only specially trained clerk and security professionals are allowed to approach shoplifting suspects.”
The statement adds: “While violence is on the rise nationwide, we are working closely with police to mitigate and address the threat of violence that can occur in and around stores. Also offers training to peers designed to keep them safe, including active shooter training. “
Some workers say companies are slow to act when pointing out potentially dangerous customers. Edenhill, who works at Fred Meyer Supermarket in Richland, Washington, said his colleagues spent hours in the store, always warning management, especially about men talking to children. The store finally banned him, but “it took months,” Hill said.
Still, she said she wasn’t too worried about her safety until a man came to the store in February, shooting an Instacart worker and seriously injuring a Fred Meyer employee. ..
After shooting, Hill trembled so much that he needed a colleague to walk with him. “I didn’t feel safe to walk on the floor anymore,” she said.
Kroger, a grocery giant that owns Fred Meyer, did not respond to requests for comment.
Some unions create official accommodation for employees who are worried about working with the general public by finding a store role where retailers do not interact with customers on a regular basis. I am requesting that.
“My members are open targets,” said Cordoba.
David Brocke, 30, who works in Fred Meyer’s agricultural department in Bellingham, Washington, said a few months ago one of his tires was cut in the parking lot of a store and the gas line of his colleague’s car was cut. rice field. Cut while they are working.
Mr Broke had to take a sick day to repair the tires, and the company didn’t compensate him for the damage, he said. “I felt despised,” he said. “I was working for them, And this happened in their parking lot, and they don’t protect us. “
Kyonbury, front-end manager for Safeway in Auburn, Washington, said she wasn’t worried about confronting rude customers, but was involved in a shooting incident like Buffalo last month. I am deeply afraid of that.
“Many people get angry and frustrated and pick it up for workers,” Barry said. “Currently, people are very sensitive. There is something in the air. It’s weird.”
She believes that a practical approach to shoplifting has led to a broader breakdown. Barry, 59, who has worked in the grocery industry for over 20 years and is a member of the UFCW Local 3000, said he recently noticed that patrons were out without paying for the goods. ..
“It’s like an illness,” she said. “When there are no results, some people think: why should I pay when others aren’t?”
Over the years, retailers have been rocking between taking a tough attitude towards thieves and unruly customers and letting them go.
When Tony Shepherd started as a detective in the Montgomery Ward store in Detroit in the 1990s, he had handcuffs and had the authority to detain thieves. In his next department store, Boston, where he worked, there was a cell where he could trap suspicious offenders.
“At that time, the industry took a pragmatic approach,” said Shepherd, now senior director of anti-theft software company ThinkLP. “But if a suspect or bystander gets injured, it can lead to legal issues.”
Penalties for theft at retail stores have been eased over the past few decades to reduce imprisonment rates. Felony theft thresholds are now above $ 1,000 in many states, so even if a shoplifting incident is reported in a store, some police stations are unlikely to prioritize it. ..
Retailers tried to impose civil penalties on shoplifters and essentially threatened to sue shoplifters to cover the value of stolen goods. However, large companies like Wal-Mart stopped the practice after it became clear that retailers were tracking customers who were falsely accused.
The industry says it is focused on stopping the organized circle of thieves reselling stolen goods online or on the streets. They point to major incidents, such as the recent charges of dozens of people accused of stealing millions of dollars from stores such as Sephora, Bloomingdale’s, and CVS.
However, it is not clear how much crime is organized. Matthew Fernandez, 49, who works at King Soopers in Broomfield, Colorado, said he was surprised to see a thief go out with a cart full of cosmetics, laundry detergent and meat and board a Mercedes-Benz SUV. rice field.
“The person you think you’re trying to steal isn’t the one doing it,” he said. “From high class to low class, they all do it.”
Barry often gives money to homeless people who come to her store. Then they can buy food. She also knows the financial pressure on the low-income as her living expenses soar.
She said the company can cancel losses when people steal. But these losses mean less money for workers.
“It’s part of my salary increase and the benefit of getting out of the door,” she said. “It’s the money we deserve.”
Ella Coese Report that contributed.
